Travels with the Doctor
by Mystic Lover of the fairytale
Summary: When Sarah Jane dies a few months after adopting. Luke , the Doctor gets the news and takes Luke with him and Donna AU rewrite of Doctor Who series 4 .
1. Chapter 1:Alone

**A/N: This is an AU story where Sarah Jane dies early within the first series and Luke now travels with the Doctor and Donna. Sarah Jane's death is offscreen.**

* * *

Luke Smith burst into the house, excited to tell Sarah Jane about his day; today had been a good day. For once he had not made any social mistakes and he had been invited to his first birthday party (that was more because of Clyde's slight interference, although Luke didn't know that). He went into the kitchen, where he knew Sarah Jane would normally be waiting for him with tea, eager to hear about his day. But the kitchen was empty. No Sarah Jane. No after school tea made-although he should have realised that straight away from the absent smell of smoke. He felt a small twinge of unease, and he figured-hoped-she was up in the attic. He rushed off and found himself running up the stairs two steps at a time at a time.

"Mum? Mum!" he cried, bursting into the attic. But it was empty. No Sarah Jane, just silence.

"Mr. Smith, I need you." Luke faced the back wall, and after a few moments of impatient waiting the massive computer slid out of the wall.

"Luke. How may I help you?" The pleasant, soothing voice asked.

"Where's Mum? I can't find her," Luke said, his voice worried. There could be a million reasons why she wasn't there, she was a journalist, after all. Maybe a story had suddenly come up, or even something alien. Luke knew that.

So why was he so afraid?

"Sarah Jane is investigating some alien activities at a warehouse. She left you a note on the table."

Luke looked over at the table; sure enough, there was a small note on it that he hadn't spotted in his frenzy. Upon inspection, it read:

_Luke, _

_I went to investigate some alien activity down at a warehouse._

_There are some leftovers in the fridge, just microwave it if I'm not back for dinner._

_Mum x_

Luke felt a brief feeling of relief, before the feeling of unease returned, partnered with a sickening feeling. He wasn't sure why. Perhaps it was because he'd felt what it would be like if she had vanished, and didn't want it to ever happen again. He knew he wouldn't be at ease until Sarah-Jane had returned.

Dinner time came and went without Sarah-Jane coming back. Luke had waited and waiting for the sound of the door opening or a car pulling into the drive-but the house remained quiet, and the driveway empty. As he checked the driveway for the third time, his heart beginning to pound in his chest, his eyes wandered to Maria's house. He couldn't stand having nothing to do but wait and be worried, and always felt safer with Maria. So, running to the phone, he called her.

* * *

"So, Sarah Jane is still gone. Have you tried phoning her?" Maria asked him anxiously. They were sitting on the sofa in the living room, Maria having gotten to his house in what must have been record time.

"Her mobile is off," Luke said. He glanced out of the window at the orange and rose tinted sky. Maria followed his gaze, fear flickering across her face before her expression returned to normal. But not quickly enough for Luke not to spot it. He clenched his hands, and looked to her, expecting her to say or do something to make it better.

"Do you want to come over to my house and spend the night? I'm sure Dad wouldn't mind," Maria offered after a moment's thought. Luke felt a leap of fear at the thought of Sarah-Jane being gone all night, followed by a rush of anxiety at the fact that Maria seemed to think she could be, and looked as nervous as he did.

Luke thought about it for a minute. He would hate being by himself in the big, empty house in the dark. But then he shook his head. "No, she might come home."

"Okay… call me tomorrow," Maria said, then paused. "Are you sure? It's really no problem, we have an airbed, you could sleep in my room."

"No, thank you," Luke replied quietly, resisting the temptation to say yes. "I want to be here when she comes home."

"Yeah," Maria said, nodding. She took his hand, and he felt his heart lift slightly. "It'll be OK. She'll come home, she's probably just held up." Luke managed a thin smile.

"Yeah. You're probably right."

* * *

Maria stayed for as long as she could, until the sky had darkened outside. When she left, Luke waved goodbye ruefully from his driveway, watching her run across the street to where Alan was waiting in the welcoming glow of the house's front doorway. He saw Luke and held up a hand by way of greeting, then stepped aside to let Maria inside, closing the door behind them. Luke turned and headed back into the house, his feeling of loneliness and worry ten times worse now she had gone.

* * *

He stayed up as late as possible, staring out of the living room window, waiting for her, until his eyes were too heavy to keep open, and before long he had fallen asleep on the sofa into an unsettled sleep.

When Luke drifted awake the next morning, his mind foggy. Then he remembered, and bolted upright. The sky outside the window was bright and birds chirped piercingly. She must be back by now, she had to be.

He got up and rushed up the stairs and to Sarah-Jane's room. He slowed and stopped at the door, hesitating before he reached out and turned the handle. He was met with the familiar scent of her light perfume, and froze as he saw the still open curtains and untouched, cold looking bedding.

In desperation, Luke darted to check the attic, and wasn't surprised when there was still a lack of Sarah-Jane. He felt an overwhelming feeling of panic rise within him, and wondered if he was going to have a panic attack. He didn't particularly care.

"Mr. Smith. I need you!"

Mr. Smith came out with his usual fanfare that seemed inappropriate under the circumstances.

"Mr. Smith, Mum's still not home," Luke burst out in a hurry. "Could you look for her on security cameras or something? Could you track her phone?"

"…There is a report on the news," Mr. Smith told him after a few seconds' pause.

"About…about what?" Luke asked, a chill creeping up his spine. "Mum?"

"Yes."

"Put it up, please," Luke requested, feeling sick as he thought of why she would be on the news. The news channel came up on Mr. Smith's screen, and a female reporter stood in front of a burning warehouse, a serious expression on her face.

"…This is the scene where the warehouse exploded around midnight. One body was found close to the blast, believed to be that of local journalist, Sarah -Jane Smith. Authorities still unsure as to what started the explosion…"

Luke stood there, struck dumb with horror, then slowly sank down onto the attic floor. Mum was dead. He didn't want to believe it. His head told him it was true, but his heart refused to believe it and he didn't want to believe it.

The doorbell rang out downstairs, and even though he knew it was probably Maria, Luke ignored it-he didn't want to talk to or see anyone. He didn't think he _could _speak. He stood up and went down to Sarah Jane's room as though in a trance, where he curled up on Sarah Jane's bed. He reached for the nearby stuffed owl, holding it tight in his arms. He didn't want Sarah Jane to be dead…he was alone. He didn't be want to be alone. He didn't want to be without her.

The hours slid by; morning turned to midmorning, which turned into afternoon. The phone rang continuously, but still Luke did not move from the bed. He hadn't cried- he was too numb. He knew what death was in the scientific sense, but to have someone he loved die made him feel weird-his chest hurt, but he also felt oddly senseless, like he was drowning, and he didn't like or understand that feeling. He had never experienced it in his short life, and wished he never had.

He only knew one thing: he wanted Mum. The need was a throbbing ache, the only thought in his head, reverberating over and over again. But Mum was dead, and he didn't know what was going to happen to him.

Eventually, he sat up and went upstairs to the attic, the owl still in his arms, having formed some kind of strange attachment to it under the circumstances.

Mr. Smith was still out, monitoring news stories that Luke couldn't stand to look at.

"Mum's dead, Mr. Smith," Luke said dully. "…I don't know what to do."

"I will contact the Doctor. He will need to know, Sarah Jane was his friend," Mr. Smith said, a hint of sympathy in his voice. Luke wondered vaguely if he had the ability to mourn, but didn't ask, his thoughts turning to something-someone-else.

The Doctor. Mum talked about him a lot-she actually had pictures of him, a man with curly hair and ridiculously long scarf.

Luke curled up on the sofa while Mr. Smith made the call: Luke recalled that Sarah-Jane had gotten the number from a woman called Martha. A few minutes later, he heard the unmistakable sounds of temporal engines, and a blue police box materialized in the attic. The door opened with a creek, and a young man in a blue suit, trench coat and red trainers stepped out.

Luke sat up and looked at the man in confusion-was this the Doctor? He looked nothing like the pictures Mum had on her wall.

The Doctor looked at Luke with mirroring confusion, seemingly very bemused. "I must have gotten the wrong place. I…I got a call that Sarah-Jane was dead. Must have been wrong…she's not. Can't be." He was about to step back into the TARDIS, when Luke jumped up, suddenly wanting this strange man to stay with him.

"No, wait! Mum...Sarah-Jane, she is...she's dead."

The Doctor turned around, pain on his expression that was quickly masked expertly. "And you are…?"

"Luke Smith, Sarah Jane is…was my Mum." Luke's voice caught on that last word.

"Sarah Jane never told me she had kids." The Doctor squinted at him, and Luke frowned. "Hang on." He pulled out his screwdriver, running it over Luke. He checked the readings. "Ah, brilliant! You're very brilliant Luke ." He grinned. Luke didn't know if he meant to sound patronising or if that was a poor attempt to cheer him up. Maybe he actually thought he was brilliant, although Luke didn't really see why. He was acting very strangely for someone who's friend had died.

"Oi! Space boy, what's the meaning of this?" A ginger haired woman stepped out of the TARDIS. The Doctor turned to her.

"Donna Noble, I'd like you to meet the son of…a recently deceased friend of mine. He's called Luke Smith. My sonic says he was grown. By Bane, but he's completely human. A genetically engineered child."

"Yes, but what are we doing here?" Donna asked, seemingly uninterested.

"Sarah-Jane's gone and Luke has nowhere to go, so he's going to be coming with us," he replied simply. "Luke, go pack a bag."

The Doctor thought he would contact Luke's school and tell them something or other about why he had vanished. It was the least he could do. He could tell Luke was clever and had a lot of potential as a companion, and if he was left alone he'd end up in a children's home where he would most likely suffer. He was Sarah-Jane's son, and he wouldn't let that happen to him.

He would grieve horribly, but so would the Doctor, even if he hid it. He'd had practice. But they'd get though it together.

Next: The Sontaran Stratagem, where Luke meets Martha Jones and a boy named Luke Rattigan…


	2. Chapter 2:Poison Sky

Travels 2 * I own no one*

* * *

On the TARDIS, the Doctor and Donna were engaged in a violent shouting match.

"If you think I'm getting done for kidnapping, Space Boy, you've got another thing coming!" Donna yelled, jabbing him in the chest with her finger.

"Oi! That hurt!" he said reproachfully while she glowered at him. "And we won't 'get done' for kidnapping because we aren't kidnapping Luke!"

"I don't know what sort of messed up alien rules you've got back on Mars," Donna began furiously, and the Doctor gave an exasperated sigh, "but this feels like kidnapping! We didn't tell anyone, he must know other people and they're bound to notice he's gone!"

"Donna-"

"How did you know his mum was dead anyway?"

"I got a phone call," the Doctor replied, shrugging as if that explained anything, clinging to the tiniest hope that Donna would drop the subject. But she remained stubborn.

"But here! I face death with nearly every day, what if he gets blown up or eaten or stepped on and squished by...by some giant space-monster?" she asked in near hysterics. "Why not a children's home?"

"Because he's different. Special. And no stranger to danger," the Doctor assured Donna, who folded her arms, he lips pressed into a thin line.

"Have you ever taken care of a kid before?" she asked. The Doctor suddenly and deliberately avoided her eyes, busying himself with the console. It had been a long time since he had been around any childen, human or...otherwise. Certain memories began to surface, and he locked them away where he kept the rest of Gallifrey. In terms of companions, they were mostly older-the youngest really was Ace, and even then he had been sixteen. Technically, Luke was one, but with the behaviour of a teen.

Noticing the look on the Doctor's face (which was a kind of mild panic mixed with a sad nostalgia), Donna sighed. "Well, luckily for you I made most of my money when I was younger babysitting," she said, then disappeared down the softly golden corridor that lead to the room the TARDIS had made for Luke.

It was a cross between a typical boy's room and a library filled with complicated books that Donna couldn't even begin to comprehend the titles of, or understand how Luke could.

Luke himself hadn't looked up as she came in, remaining sitting on the blue duvet cover of his bed, staring at a picture of a middle aged, brown haired woman. Guessing it was his mother and feeling a painful twinge of sympathy, Donna walked over and perched on the bed. He said nothing.

"I remember when my Gran died," she said gently. "I was in floods, crying for days." She remembered how her whole family had been grieving with her, and supported each other even in those dark times-even her mother. Yet Luke was here, scooped up from his planet and staying in a space-ship with people who were practically strangers. "Are you're grandparents still alive?"

"I don't have any," he replied in a voice void of emotion, a statement more than anything else. "Mum's parents died when she was a baby, she was raised by her aunt."

"What about your dad?" Donna asked, and she saw an odd expression cross his face. "I'm sorry...did he run off?"

"No. I don't have one."

"Well...you kind of must do," Donna said, laughing awkwardly. "You know...the Birds and the...the Bees, and all that?" Finally, he looked up from the photo, frowning in puzzlement.

"What Bees?"

"You know. _The_ Bees," Donna said in a hushed voice. His face stayed blank. "Look, you need a mum and a dad to have a baby," she said quickly, deciding against any more explaining.

"I wasn't born, I was created by an alien race called the Bane," he explained casually. If Donna hadn't witnessed the things she had, what Luke had jus said would have floored her. But instead she just asked one question.

"Are you human or like Space Boy?" she asked simply.

"Human, but I have ten-thousand minds."

"And he's a genius." They both looked to see the Doctor leaning against the doorframe, watching them. Donna got off the bed and stood up, and he smirked. "Don't get up on my account, I know it's customary when someone great and respected enteres a room but-"

"Oh, shut up," Donna interrupted scathingly. "Genius boy or not, he's still a kid, and kids need to eat. And so do I. I don't know if you have some weird...alien stomach or something, but I'm going to make us some breakfast." With that, she marched off, her red hair bouncing on her shoulders. The Doctor looked from her retreating form to Luke, aghast.

"Alien stomach...? Donna!" he shouted, poking his head round the doorframe. "Donna! Seriously, It's an emergency!"

"What?!" she could be heard shrieking from the corridor.

"I'll have half a dozen waffles, seeing as you're going. And a banana milkshake."

The request was followed by a string of words, some of which Luke had heard only from Clyde, some that were entirely new.

"OK, only asking..."

* * *

With Luke around, the Doctor noticed a difference in Donna. With him she was sarcastic, snappy and a bit tempermental, especially while running from aliens or humans intent on killing them for whatever reason, serious or the result of something stupid the Doctor had done (for instance, a few days ago they had visited a planet inhabited soley by highly intelligent alien monkeys. Unfortunately, The Doctor had accidenly eaten what had turned out to be their sacred banana, and they had spent the rest of the trip being chased accross the planet while the monkey people hurled unspeakable things at them).

Now a strangely maternal side of Donna had appeared. She called Luke 'Genius Boy', but affectionately, using a tone different to the one of sarcasm she used when calling the Doctor 'Martian' or 'Space Man'.

Luke seemed to like her and the Doctor too-he was still mourning desperately in a way that made Donna distraught, but the Doctor had spoken to him quietly on more than one occasion, and slowly he was dealing with the grief and beginning to settle into his new in the TARDIS was as exciting as it was dangerous, and he was reminded of fighting aliens with his mum, Maria and Clyde. If he hadn't been so busy, he would dwell on that more. But since taking to the stars with the Doctor it was as though a barrier had grown between his life now and his life then, the faces of his friends safely locked away by his mind, protecting him from the past and what he missed. He was running, just like the Doctor.

One day, the Doctor decided the time was ripe to teach them both how to pilot the TARDIS. Needless to say, it didn't go quite as planned.

"I can't believe I'm doing this!" Donna exclaimed as she pulled and pushed various levers and buttons.

"No, neither can I," the Doctor said, looking as though he were already regretting his decision. "Luke, hold that button down-Oh," he said, rushing back to Donna. "Careful!" he shouted, hitting the console and tugging up a lever. "Left hand down, LEFT HAND DOWN!" She yanked down the lever and the TARDIS shuddered alarmingly. "Getting a bit too close to the ninteen eighties!"

"What am I gonna do, put a dent in them?" Donna asked sarcastically.

"Well, someone did."

Suddenly, there was a deafening bang and a puff of white smoke that enfulged half the console while crimson and gold sparks flew.

"I'm sorry!" Luke shouted from somewhere in the smoke, coughing.

"It's OK, I forget to tell you that you should let go!"

Amidst the yelling and chaos, the phone lying on the console began to ring shrilly. All the three of them stopped, staring at it, the smoke drifting past.

"Hold on," Donna said in shock. "That's a phone! You've got a mobile!" she gasped as he picked it up, staring at it seriously. "Since when?"

"It's not mine," he said grimly, and Luke frowned.

"What's so weird about him having a phone?" he asked curiously.

"You know, he's a time travelling alien from Gallibay and he's with _Orange_?"

"...Orange?"

"The phone company."

"I thought an orange was a fruit?" Luke looked massively confused, and Donna gave up and patted him on the head sympathetically.

"Never mind."

Meanwhile, the Doctor had been talking to whoever was on the other end of the phone, and now snapped it shut, looking a mix of elated and shocked.

"So who was it?" Donna asked sarcastically. "Was it E.T calling home?"

"That was Martha," the Doctor said. "Martha Jones."

"Your friend?"

"Yep." He glanced around at them both, grinning. "We're going back to Earth."

* * *

In a typical but secluded London alley, a sudden gust of wind blew up out of nowhere that caused the brown leaves littering the floor to spiral upwards, accompanied by a sound that would have been alarming to anyone but the dark skinned woman in the leather jacket who was standing at the end of the alley, apparently waiting. Before her eyes, a bright blue Police Box materialised, fading in and out before remaining solidly, impossibly real and there.

With a creak, the door opened, and a man strolled out. His eyes fell upon the woman, and he maintained his serious expression.

"Martha Jones," he said simply by way of greeting.

"Doctor," she replied. There was a long, tense pause, and they both took a few hesitant steps towards each other. Then Martha's face broke into a grin, and they threw their arms around each other, laughing and beaming.

"You haven't changed a bit!" the Doctor grinned.

"Neither have you!"

"How's the family?" he asked as they parted, still grinning widely.

"You know, not so bad," Martha said with a shrug. "Recovering."

"What about you?" he asked. But Martha didn't reply, her smile slipping as she saw the red haired woman stepping out of the TARDIS from over the Doctor's shoulder.

"Right," she said awkwardly as they watched each other. "Should've known. Didn't take you long to replace me then?" she asked, hitting the Doctor playfully.

"Now," the Doctor warned. "Don't start fighting." He stepped back quickly as though worried he would be hit by flying punches, and held up his hands. "Martha, Donna. Donna, Martha. Please, don't fight, I can't bear fighting!"

"You wish," Donna smirked, walking forwards to greet Martha with a handshake. "I've heard all about you, he talks about you all the time!" Martha's eyes widened.

"I dread to think," she joked, then looked to the Doctor questioningly, more seriously.

"No no, he says nice things," Donna said hastily, while the Doctor looked mildly petrified. "Good things. Nice things, really...good things." She exchanged a look with the Doctor, and Martha looked embarassed.

"Oh my God he's told you everything," she said, brushing her frindge out of her eyes and looking at the floor.

"Didn't take you long to get over it though! Who's the lucky man?"

"What man? Lucky what?" the Doctor piped up quickly, looking from one to the other. Donna rolled her eyes.

"She's engaged, you prawn," Donna told him, as Martha waggled her ring at him proudly.

"Really? Who to?"

"Tom! That Tom Milligan! He's in pediatrics, working out in Africa right now. And yes," she said, looking to Donna, "I know, I've got a Doctor who disappears off to distant places. Tell me about it."

"Is he skinny?" Donna asked innocently, and the Doctor-who had been nodding-stopped, his smile drooping.

"No, he's sort of...strong."

"He," Donna said, pointing to the Doctor, who was now looking hugely offended, "is too skinny for words, you give him a hug, you get a paper cut!" Martha laughed, and the Doctor sighed.

"I'd rather you were fighting." At this point, two things happened at once: a communicator in Martha's pocket went off, and Luke stepped apprehensively out of the TARDIS. Donna went back to him, while Martha pulled out the communicator, watched stonily by the Doctor.

"This is Dr Jones," she said authoritively. "Operation Blue Sky is go go go.I repeat, this is a go." She gave Luke a questioning look, then the Doctor, and looked like she was going to say something before she remembered her duties and turned to march off, the others following her to whatever she had summoned them for.

There was a sea of UNIT officers marching and running in unison, the khaki vehicles trundling along in droves.

"Unified Intelligance Task Force, raise that barrier now!" someone shouted.

"Leave your safeties on lads!" a soldier yelled at the troops. "It's non-hostiles!"

"_All workers, lay down your tools and surrender!_" a voice over a loudspeaker boomed as people ran in panic and soldiers swarmed over the factory.

"Greyhound 16 to Trap One, B Section," Martha said into her communicator. "Go, go, go! Search the ground floor. Grid pattern Delta."

"What are you searching for?" the Doctor asked, raising his voice over the chaos, while Donna stuck close to Luke protectively.

"Illegal aliens," Martha replied hurriedly, holding up a hand to stop him in his tracks as a soldier yelled out a command.

"_This is a UNIT operation! All workers lay down your tools and surrender immediatly_!" Guns were held to workers' heads as they sank to their knees, and the Doctor and Donna watched grimly, Luke taking in the scene with interest and fear.

"B Section mobilised," Martha shouted over he communicator. "E Section, F Section, on my command!"

"...Is that what you did to her?" Donna asked the Doctor in a low voice as the soldiers dashed about and Martha hurried off. "Turned her into a soldier?" The Doctor didn't reply, and Luke moved closer to Donna as more people ran past.

Soon Martha returned, and both Donna and Luke wondered what the Doctor would say to her.

"So...you're qualified now, you're a proper doctor?" he said in an oddly chatty way.

"UNIT rushed it through, given my experiance in the field," Martha said lightly. "Here we go. We're establishing a field base on site." She glanced back at the Doctor. "They're dying to meet you."

"Wish I could say the same," he said. Ignoring him, Martha brought them to an emormous, shining black UNIT vehicle and up the steps. Inside there was an established looking base, full of equipment and people bustling about.

"Operation Blue Sky complete sir. Thanks for letting me the lead," Martha said gratefully to a stiffly standing man in a green uniform. "And this is the Doctor," she said with an air of unveiling a great prize. Doctor, Colonel Mace."

"Sir," the Colonel said with a rigid salute.

"Oh, don't salute," the Doctor said in disgust.

"But it's an honour, sir. I've read all the filed on you. Technically speaking, you're still on staff. You never resigned." Donna looked at him in surprise.

"What? You used to work for them?"

"Yeah, a long time ago," the Doctor said. "Back in the seventies. Or was it the eighties? But it was all a bit more homespun back then."

"Times have changed, sir," the Colonel said.

"Yeah, that's enough of the 'sir'."

"Come on now, Doctor," Martha said with a smile. "You've seen it, you've been on board the Valient. We've got massive funding from the United Nations, all in the name of Homeworld Security."

"A modern UNIT for the modern world," the Colonel chipped in.

"What, and that means arresting ordinary factory workers?" Donna asked angrily as they stopped. "In the streets, in broad daylight? It's more like Guantanamo Bay out there. Donna, by the way! Donna Noble, since you didn't ask. I'll have a salute." The Colonel, looking slightly shell shocked, turned to the Doctor, who nodded. He stepped around to face Donna sharply, and brough his hand to his forhead obediantly.

"Ma'am."

"Thank you," Donna said apporvingly. The Colonel's eyes fell upon Luke.

"He can't be in here," he stated. "Really, Doctor, this is no place for children."

"Nah, he's all right, our Luke! He can handle it," the Doctor said. The Colonel remained serious.

"He is only a boy, this is a UNIT Operation," he said sternly. "Would you see him killed?"

"I'll look after him," Donna said.

"This is not a babysitting center!"

"OK, OK, don't get your knickers in a twist. He'll be gone in a minute," the Doctor said as the Colonel and Donna stared daggers at each other, Luke looking a little reproachful. "Now, tell me, what's going on in that factory?"

"Yesterday, fifty two people died in identical circumstances," the Colonel said, dropping the subject of Luke. "All right accross the world, in eleven different time zones." The watched a large screen on which red dots appeared on a world map showing the sites. "Five am in the UK. Six am in France, eight am in Moscow, one pm in China..."

"You mean they died simultaneously?" the Doctor asked.

"Exactly. Fifty two deaths at the exact same moment, worldwide."

"How did they die?"

"They were all inside their cars."

"They were poisoned," Martha added. "I checked the biopsies, no toxins. Whatever it is left the system immediately."

"That's convinient," Luke said quietly. The Doctor nodded in approval.

"Exactly. What have the cars got in common?"

"Completely different makes," Martha replied promptly. "They're all fitted with Atmos. And _that_ is the Atmos factory," she said, gesturing back where they came in.

"What's Atmos?" the Doctor asked, and Donna rolled her eyes.

"Well, come on, even I know that," she said scornfully. "Everyone's got Atmos."

"It stands for Atmospheric Omission System," Martha said later, when she led them into the factory. "The Atmos in your car reduces CO2 emissions to zero."

"Zero?" the Doctor asked, while Luke looked at Martha, as surprised as him. "No carbon, none at all?"

"And you get a Sat Nav thrown in," Donna said, looking a bit pleased. "Plus twenty quid in shopping vouchers if you introduce a friend. Bargain."

"They're bribing you to buy Atmos," Luke said, and the Doctor nodded. Donna frowned.

"Well, no...not exactly..."

"Someone wants everyone they can to buy Atmos," the Doctor said.

"Doesn't every company want their product sold?" Donna said defensively.

"Yes," the Doctor admitted. "But in this case, there's one difference."

"Which is?"

"The huge army of UNIT soldiers and officials investigating, and the suspicious deaths."

The Colonel took them on a tour through the factory, telling them about Atmos, how they thought it was alien. Eventually, they passed through some plastic flaps to a new room.

"And here it is," the Colonel said, approaching the Atmos Sat Nav on display. Luke studied it carefully, taking in the little details, memorising it. "Atmos can be threaded through any and every make of car."

"You must have checked it?" the Doctor asked in disbelief. "Before it went on sale?"

"We did," Martha said. " We found nothing. That's why I thought we needed an expert."

"Really? Who'd you get?" the Doctor said as he put on his glasses and began to analyse a piece of machinery. Everyone looked at him pointedly until the penny dropped.

"Oh! Right! Me, yes. Good."

The Colonel and Martha left, leaving only the Doctor, Donna and Luke in the room.

"OK, so why would aliens be so keen on cleaning up our atmosphere?" Donna asked the Doctor as he picked up the Sat Nav and turned it over in his hand.

"Why would aliens be so keen on selling a soft drink?" he said, nodding at Luke. "But a very good question."

"Maybe they want to help. Get rid of pollution and stuff," she suggested. The Doctor stopped what he was doing and gave her his full attention.

"Do you know how many cars there are on planet Earth?" he asked.

"Eight hundred million," Luke replied instantly. They both stared at him. "Roughly," he added awkwardly. The Doctor nodded.

"Right. And imagine if you could control them-you'd have eight hundred million weapons," he said darkly.

* * *

After dropping Donna off home, the Doctor, Luke and another UNIT officer headed to the Rattigan Academy. Luke wasn't supposed to be there at all, and the soldier with them-Ross-was constantly giving him disapproving looks. But the Doctor was happy to let him come.

When they pulled up at the grand old building, a group of students of various ages dressed in red uniforms were jogging along the stretch of field outside, a boy only just older than Luke standing and observing them.

"Is it PE?" the Doctor called out to him, and the boy turned, looking sullen. "Wouldn't mind a kick around. I've got my daps on."

"I suppose you're the Doctor," the boy who Luke thought must be Rattigan said, strolling over, his head held high in a pompous fashion.

"Hello," the Doctor said cheerfully.

"Your commanding officer phoned ahead."

"Oh, I haven't got a commanding officer," the Doctor said. "Have you?" he asked pointedly. Rattigan said nothing and only stared at him. Suddenly, the Doctor smiled again. "Oh, and this is Ross," he introduced to Rattigan. "Say hello, Ross."

"Good afternoon, sir," Ross said politely. The Doctor jerked a thumb at Luke.

"And this is Luke! To avoid confusion, I'll call him Luke One and you Luke Two, got it?" he said brightly. Rattigan looked at Luke with undisguised contempt.

"We might share the same name but we are in no way the same in other senses," he said stiffly. The Doctor raised his eyebrows.

"I think you're more alike than you think. Although he seems a bit less arrogant than you are." At this, Rattigan flushed an ugly purple colour.

"There's a difference between arrogance and deserved pride."

"Well, you don't seem to be able to distinguish between the two very well. You know, for a genius." Rattigan glowered at him, and the Doctor said sympathetically, " Would it hurt your pride less if I let you be Luke One instead?"

"Just go inside," Rattigan snapped, and the Doctor, unfazed, bounced off.

"Good, I can smell genius! In a good way," he added. The two Luke's and Ross followed him inside, where machinery whirred and flamed burst out. The Doctor, grabbing Luke and hauling him along, danced around gleefully like a child in a toy store.

"Oh, now! That's clever, look!" he exclaimed joyfully, shoving on his glasses. "A single molecule fabric! How thin is that? You could pack a tent in a thimble! Ooh!" he said as another thing caught his attention. "Gravity simulators!" He rushed off again, taking in the abundance of inventions. "Terraforming, biospheres, nano-tech steel construction! Haha, this is brilliant! Do you know, with equipment like this you could...ooh, I don't know...move to another planet or something?" Under his gaze, Rattigan smile ruefully.

"If only that was possible," he said.

"If only that were possible," the Doctor corrected, whipping off his glasses as he did so. "Conditional clause." In Luke's opinion, Rattigan looked like someone had just punched him in the face, and it was with a tight voice that he next spoke.

"I think you'd better come with me."

He led them into what looked like an enormous, lavish living room, with plush sofas and a large object with a circular whole within it standing in the centre. Luke frowned at it.

"Doctor, is that...?" he began in a worried whisper, but the Doctor hushed him.

"Sssh. I know," he said.

"You're smarter than the usual UNIT grunts, I'll give you that," Rattigan said. The Doctor looked to Ross, offended on his behalf.

"He called you a grunt! Don't call Ross a grunt, he's nice, we like Ross. Look at this place!" As the Doctor looked around again, Rattigan seemed to snap, throwing up his hands.

"What exactly do you want?"

"I was just thinking," the Doctor said. "What a responsible eighteen year old you are, Luke Two. Inventing zero carbon cars, saving the world."

"Takes a man with vision," Rattigan said smugly, and Luke looked at him disgustedly, hoping that he'd never be like that.

"Hmm!" the Doctor agreed. "Blinkered vision. Because Atmos means more people driving. More cars, more petrol. End result, the oil's going to run out faster than ever. The Atmos system could make things worse."

"Yeah! Well, see, that's tautology!" Rattigian said quickly, jumping on what the Doctor just said. "You can't say Atmos system, because it stands for 'Atmospheric Omission System', so you're saying 'Atmospheric Omission System System'! Do you see, Mr Conditional Clause?" Rattigan asked at one hundred miles per hour. Ross and Luke both looked stunnded. The Doctor looked pitying.

"It's been a long time since anyone said no to you, hasn't it?" he said. Rattigan's mouth tightened.

"I'm still right, though."

"Not easy, is it? Being clever?" the Doctor asked, giving Luke a glance as well as Rattigan. "You look at the world and you connect things, random things, and think, why can't anyone else see it? The rest of the world is so slow."

"Yeah."

"You're on your own." The Doctor ran his eye over Luke. "Sort of."

"I know."

"But not with this," the Doctor said, holding up the Atmos equipment. "'Cause there's no way you invented this single-handedly. Might be Earth technology, but that's like finding a mobile phone in the middle ages. No! No, I'll tell you what it's like," the Doctor said, wandering over to the odd structure he and Luke had seen as they entered. "It's like finding this in the middle of someone's front room. Albeit a very big front room."

"Why, what is it?" Ross asked nervously.

"Nah," the Doctor said. "This looks like a thing, doesn't it? People don't question things, do they? You just say 'oooh, it's a thing'!"

"Leave it alone!" Rattigan commanded loudly. The Doctor didn't pay him the slightest bit of attention.

"Me, I make these connections. So did Luke, as soon as we walked in. You were so sure that you were the brightest so you didn't even bother to hide it, didn't even begin to believe that someone might just have the same knowledge as you. Because this, to me, looks like a teleport pod." And, upon pressing a button, there was a drone before the Doctor disappeared.

"Oh my God," Ross gasped. Rattigan looked furious, and Luke ran forwards to see if he could reverse it before the Doctor reappeared, looking flustered as he grabbed Luke and rushed forwards.

"Ross, get out! Luke, you better come with me! Both Lukes!"

The drone came again and a squat, metal cased creature appeared in the teleport pod. Quick as a flash, the Doctor pointed his sonic at the pod, sparks flying.

"Sontaran!" he yelled, and the creature stopped. "That's your name, isn't it? Sontaran. How did I know that, eh? Fascinating, isn't it? Isn't that what's keeping me alive?"

"I order you to surrender in the name of the Unified Intelligence Taskfroce," Ross said, pointing a gun at the Sontaran.

"That's not going to work," the Doctor said. "Cordolaine system, and I right? Copper excitations stopping the bullets."

"How do you know so much?" the Sontaran asked.

"Well," the Doctor said simply, tilting his head but not answering.

"Who is he?" the Sontaran asked furiously, and Rattigan stepped forwards.

"He didn't give his name!" he said hastily as the Doctor made himself at home sitting on a table.

"Now, this isn't typical Sontaran behaviour, is it? Hiding," the Doctor accused. "Using teenagers? Stopping bullets? A Sontaran should face bullets with dignity, shame on you!"

"You dishonour me, sir!" the Sontaran said angrily.

"Yeah? Then show yourself!"

"I will look into my enemy's eyes." Slowly, the Sontaran removed it's helmet, revealing what looked like a brown, wrinkly potato.

"Oh my God," Ross said, aghast.

"And your name?" the Doctor asked seriously.

"General Staal, of the Tenth Sontaran Fleet," the Sontaran/Potato said. "Staal the Undefeated!"

"Oh, that's not a very good nickname," the Doctor said, disappointed. "What if you do get defeated? 'Staal the not-quite-so-undefeated-any more, but never mind'?" Beside him, Ross scoffed.

"He looks like a potato," he said. "A baked potato. A talking baked potato."

"Now, Ross, don't be rude," the Doctor mock scolded. "You look like a pink weasel to him. The Sontarans are the finest soldiers in the galaxy," he said, walking leisurely around and picking a small ball up from the floor and tossing it experimentally. "Dedicated to a life of warfare, a clone race. Grown in batches of millions with only one weakness."

"Sontarans have no weakness!" Staal said indignantly.

"No, it's a good weakness!" the Doctor protested. Rattigan whipped around, fear in his eyes.

"I thought you were meant to be clever?" he asked. "Only an idiot would provoke him!"

"Only an idiot would give him a way to get inside their front room," Luke snapped in loyal defense. Beside him, Ross struggled to hold back laughter at the look on Rattigan's face.

"But the Sontarans are fed by a Probic Vent in the back of their neck," the Doctor continued, tapping his own neck with a tennis racket he had snatched up. "Which means, they always have to face their enemies in battle. Isn't that brilliant? They can never turn their backs."

"We stare into the face of death!" Staal growled.

"Yeah?" the Doctor said with a fixed grin. "Well, stare at this!" He whipped up his tennis racket, lobbed the ball into the air then whacked it hard so that it flew forwards, bounced off the teleport pod and smacked into the back of Staal's neck, who screamed in pain. "RUN!"

The Doctor, Luke and Ross legged it, leaving Rattigan and the Sontaran, running all the way out of the building until the reached the jeep.

"So they're behind Atmos?" Luke panted, while Ross flopped in his seat beside him, gasping for air.

"I'd suppose so," the Doctor said grimly. "If it is them, it can't be good."

The Jeep hurtled along the road, and the Doctor grabbed Ross's communicator. "Greyhound Fourty to Trap One. Repeat. Can you hear me? Over." There was a crackle, but no reply.

"Why is it not working?" Ross asked.

"Must be the Sontarans. If they can trace that they can isolate the Atmos."

"_Turn Left_," the Sat Nav said in a pleasant voice.

"Try going right," the Doctor said, and Luke looked at him in panic, guessing why.

"It said left!" Ross protested, and the Doctor sighed.

"I know, so go right!" Ross tried to turn and the tires squealed, but the didn't move more than half an inch. "I've got no control, it's driving itself!"

"The doors are locked!" Luke said, feeling a wave of fear and panic wash over him as he tried desperately to open the door.

"It won't stop!"

"Aah! It's deadlocked, I can't stop it," the Doctor growled after trying to resolve matters with the sonic screwdriver.

"Let me!" Ross said, trying to smash it frantically.

"_Turn left_."

"The Sat Nav's just a box, it's wired into the whole car!" the Doctor said, looking stressed as he ran a hand through his hair in frustration. The car picked up speed and whizzed around a bend. Ross went a sickly white.

"We're heading for the river!" he yelled in terror. The Doctor seemed to be thinking fast, then leaned forwards.

"Atmos, are you programmed to contradict my orders?" he asked quickly.

"_Confirmed_," it replied.

"Anything I say, you'll ignore it?"

"_Confirmed_."

"Then drive into the river! I order you to drive me into the river!" he shouted, and Ross's eyes widened.

"Trust him," Luke said, really hoping the idea would work.

"Do it!" the Doctor continued to yell. "Drive into the river!" The car kept speeding towards the water, and for one heart-stopping moment Luke thought it hadn't worked. Then, right at the edge, the car ground to a halt. The three of them pushed open the doors and ran out, sprinting as far away as possible.

"GET DOWN!"

"_Turn right. Left. Right. Left. Right. Left. Right..._"

The voice of the indecisive Sat Nav got higher and shriller, until finally it produced...

And absolutely tiny explosion that consisted of only five sparks or so and a puff of smoke that could have come from a party popper.

"...Oh. Is that it?" the Doctor asked, sitting up, looking disappointed. Ross lifted his head, and Luke stood up.

"Well, I'm happy with that," Ross said.

* * *

The Doctor and Luke arrived at Donna's, and were soon outside investigating her car. They rung Martha and gave her frantic instructions, the Doctor more panicked than Luke had ever seen him.

Donna's family soon began to quarel while the Doctor attempted to save the world.

Then they found the gas. And with Donna's Grandad stuck in his car the toxic gas began to pour from every vehicle, forming a thick, poisonous fog in the street. Alarms went off, the wails piercing the air as people all around choked and coughed. Standing helpless in the street, the Doctor stared around in horror while Donna screamed for her Grandfather. All of a sudden, Luke thought of Maria and Clyde, and their families. They were in danger.

Donna's mother smashed the glass and tugged Donna's Grandfather from the car, but Donna refused her mother's wishes and left with the Doctor and Luke, driving away from the gas flooded streets.

The Doctor sent Donna and Luke back to the TARDIS, safely away from the smoke.

"Oh God..." Choking, Donna leant over the bannister and coughed violently. "Are you OK?" she asked Luke.

"I'm fine," he gasped, throwing an arm over his mouth as he coughed. "But what about the Doctor?"

"He'll be OK," she assured him. Without warning the TARDIS juddered, and Donna and Luke looked to each fearfully.

"What was that?" Luke asked apprehensively. Donna stood up straighter and moved slowly towards the door.

"I'll check. You stay here," she said, then opened the door a crack and peered outside before closing it again.

"What? What is it?" Luke asked as she stood stiffly as though frozen.

"Sontrons," she whispered.

"Sontarans," Luke corrected her. She nodded quickly.

"Yes, yes, but...we've moved! We must have!" She backed away from the doors quickly, then extended an arm and pushed him back. "Go...go to your room."

"...What?" Luke asked, perplexed.

"Your room, go to it," she ordered again. "Stay safe, I'll handle this."

"No, I-"

"Now!" she barked in her best authorative voice, and, slightly hurt, he ran off.

He had just stepped into his bedroom when the door flew shut of its own accord, with the sound of a lock clicking.

"No!" Luke rushed over and tugged the handle, but the door wouldn't budge. "NO! Let me out!"

After failing to open the door, he collapsed onto the bed, feeling close to tears. Then, slowly, an odd feeling crept up on him. Like someone was standing in the room with him.

Then he felt the voice. He didn't hear the words, it was as though he felt what was being said.

_Luke._

Wondering if was going mad, he shifted on the bed anxiously and tried to ignore it.

_Luke._

He leapt up off the bed and began to pace, then tried to door again. As he released the handle, he felt the apology enter his mind and fill his blood along with a familiar hum that filled him.

The TARDIS.

"You locked me in," he realised, remembering what the Doctor had said about the TARDIS being alive. _Yes, _he felt the TARDS say. _I'm sorry._

"Then let me out," he told the TARDIS firmly. "I want to help Donna and the Doctor."

_No. Danger._

He felt the TARDIS and its fear for his life. Then there was a strange feeling of grief and sadness, his own memories and those of the TARDIS.

_I keep safe the son of Sarah-Jane._

"I..." he trailed off, wondering. As an experiment, he closed his eyes and tried to project his feelings instead. His lonliness.

_You have me. You are one of my childen-the children of the TARDIS. _

And Luke kept conversing with the TARDIS in the new found a way that wasn't quite telepathic, but something else. Their thoughts and emotions mingled so the other could understand, and as they did so Luke understood more and more of what the TARDIS was saying to him. He learnt she couldn't speak to many this way, only occasionally to some companions who barely noticed, and to the Doctor. She loved him and he loved her and they felt it together in their own way.

After a while the TARDIS faded away, and the door to his room flew open at the exact same time Donna shout could be heard from the corridor.

"Luke? Luke?" she called, then entered the room. "Listen, I'm sorry about shouting-"

"No, I understand," he said with a wan smile.

"It's all OK, the Doctor did it. Atmos is finished. The Sontarans are all dead...Rattigan killed them. Luke Rattigan." Noticing her hesitation, Luke got up, a sense of dread in the pit of his stomach.

"What's wrong?" he asked, and she sighed.

"He blew them up in the Doctor's place. He died so he could live," she said quietly. "I mean he was a...but he saved him." She tried to keep longing strong, indifferent, but Luke walked over and hugged her all the same.

Later they all stood in by the TARDIS console together while Martha stared almost lovingly at the towering coral-like structures. She denied the offer to come with them, but it seemed to TARDIS had other plans. She was always in control, Luke realised. And while Martha shrieked at the Doctor and he panicked and Donna fell about, also shouting at him furiously, he only wondered what adventure the TARDIS was taking them to next.

. *A/N:* Doctor's Daughter next


	3. Chapter 3:Doctor's daughter

**A/N : I own no one this is based on the "Doctor's Daughter"-it won't be exactly like the episode but close **

"WHAT THE HELL IS IT DOING?"

Donna's shout could be heard above all else as the TARDIS spun out of control, with what looked like small explosion bursting in a shower of sparks and smoke from the console. Martha was clinging desperately to the edge, while the Doctor tried frantically to use the controls. Luke had already been forced to the floor by a violent shake, and was unable to get to his feat while the entire TARDIS juddered and spun. Movement caught his eye, and looking beside him he was stunned to see a limp hand in a container of liquid, bubbles streaming upwards and popping inside, almost as though the liquid were boiling.

"The conrtols aren't working!" he yelled, and sparks flew into his face that forced him to the floor beside Luke. "Don't know where we're going but my old hand's very excited about it." Grabbing Luke's hand he pulled himself up with him, while Donna looked infuriated and confused in the same instant.

"I thought that was some freaky alien thing! You telling me it's yours?" She sounded a little digusted. Martha turned to her, still only half standing as she tried to keep her balance.

"It got cut off, he grew a new one," she explained.

"You are completely impossible!"

"Not impossible, just a bit unlikely," the Doctor corrected. With one sudden, enormous lurch fire and more sparks exploded forcefully from the console and, with a scream, they all fell back onto the hard metal lattice floor. For one instant, the Doctor hesitated. Then, before anyone else could even recover, he was off and out of the door.

"He's mad," Donna said, shaking her head. "He's barmy."

"But brilliant," Luke added, and she gave him a look.

"Boys. Men. You're all insane!" she said in exasperation, then hauled herself up and headed for the door a long with Martha. She turned as they both gave her amused looks, both still on the floor. "Someone's got to look after him!" she defended haughtily. "Now come on!"

Once outside, they were in the middle of what looked like a dump, albeit a harzardous one, filled with barbed wire and metal.

"Oh, I love this bit," Martha breathed, staring around as though she were somewhere beautiful rather than what seemed to be the very worst corner of the universe.

"I thought you wanted to go home?" Donna asked her while the Doctor began inspecting every spot.

"I know, but all the same. It's that feeling you get." Martha grinned, and Donna nodded in understanding, looking emotional.

"Like you've swallowed a hamster."

"...you've swallowed a hamster?" Luke asked her in shock and horror. His first thought was for the poor hamster, the second was uncertainty of whether he had quite grasped what was normal after all, the third was that it was gross. Donna shook her head quickly, laughing.

"No! Never. I had a cat once that ate my hamster Fluffle, but I never did. It's not normal to eat hamsters," she added hastily, just to make sure that he never tried it. His eyebrows joined in a frown.

"Then how would you know what it felt like to swallow one?" he asked.

"I'm just guessing. I meant it was like something was running around inside me, as nerves."

"But wouldn't it be dissolved by the stomach acid? Or die of shock?"

"Well...yes, but...oh never mind," Donna sighed, while Martha looked at Luke curiously.

"You're a strange one, aren't you?" she commented. Luke opened his mouth to defend himself, but was drowned out what looked like soldiers in green uniforms ran in, guns aimed at them.

"Don't move! Stay where you are!" the shouted, and they all put up their hands.

"We're not armed, look, no weapons, never anyweapons! We're safe," the Doctor said quickly. For some reason, the soldiers didn't look reassured.

"Look at their hands. They're clean," one of them said. Another nodded.

"All right, process them. Him first," he said, looking to the Doctor. In a flash the two others grabbed him, forcing him over to a strange looking machine.

"Let him go!" Luke yelled, and Donna shushed him.

"Wait-Oi!" the Doctor yelled as they pushed him onwards. "What's wrong with clean hands?"

"What's going on?" Martha yelled, running after him. Before Donna could grab him, Luke had followed.

"Leave him alone!" Donna warned as they shoved the Doctor's arm into the contraption, which buzzed.

"Something tells me this isn't about to check my blood pressure!" the Doctor said, his voice rising in pain as the machine got louder.

"What are you doing to him?" Donna demanded to be told, and Luke knew that if she didn't have a gun trained on her she would be ripping the soldier limb from limb by now.

"Everyone gets processed," he said simply, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"It's taking a tissue sample," the Doctor gasped, hissing in pain. "Ow, ow, ow, OW!" he yelled, jarring as the machine made frightening sounds. "An extrapolator here...some kind fo accelerator?" With a clunk and whoosh he was released and he stumbled backwards, holding his hand which now bore a red scar.

"Are you all right?" Martha asked, her training kicking in. Both she and Donna rushed over, while Luke instead headed for the machine.

"I don't know," the Doctor said. "That's just..." He trailed off and Luke leapt back as what looked like two blue, grey barred doors hissed and opened, white smoke bellowing out. A figure stood inside, that stepped forwards. The Doctor's face stormed over as he put the pieces together, with the Martha and Donna watching anxiously. Luke simply stared as the young, beautiful blonde girl stepped out, gazing around in awe and with a little fear, with that mix of surprise, wonder and terror that someone who had never seen the world before would feel if they could instantly appreciate it. Because she hadn't.

She had barely a few seconds, however, before a gun was thrust upon her.

"Arm yourself."

Holding in her hands awkwardly for a moment, she studied it.

"Where did she come from?" Martha asked worriedly. For some reason, the Doctor looked agonised.

"From me."

Meanwhile, something in her expression clicked in understanding, and in the same way Luke had instantly known how to read a book she was priming and cocking the gun. It was amazing and terrible in the same moment.

"From you? How?" Donna asked.

"Well...she's my daughter," the Doctor said. There was a click, and the girl held the gun tightly and flashed him a dazzling smile.

"Hello, dad," she said.

"Are you primed to take orders, ready to fight?" one of the soldiers asked her, leading her away. The Doctor was still standing, stunned into silence.

"Instant mental download of all strategic and military protocol, sir," she said at a million miles per hour as she raised her gun. While the other remained still as stone, Luke followed her slowly, his body seeming to have gone numb. "Generation 5000 soldier, primed and in peak physical health. Oh, I'm ready."

"No," Luke spoke up, and she turned slightly. "Not if you don't want to be."

"I don't...I don't understand," she said, her confident appearance faltering for just a moment. "Look, just get back." She whipped back around, her ponytail flipping, and focused on her aim. Meanwhile, Donna was already quizzing the Doctor.

"Did you say daughter?" she asked, as Luke sidled back over to them, feeling oddly shell shocked.

"Technically," the Doctor said reluctantly.

"Technically how?" Martha pressed. The Doctor explained in scientific terms, and while Luke understood every word, he wasn't sure he wanted to, so instead tuned out and began watching Jenny again. Even as he tried to ignore it, he heard his name.

"Like Luke?" Donna asked quietly.

"No. Well, yes, essentially. The process is a bit different but they were both...grown," the Doctor answered. When Donna spoke, her voice was disgusted.

"Born into war. It's not right." She stopped abruptly as Luke turned and headed back towards them, keeping his head down and trying to seem like he hadn't heard, but he heard her whisper to the Doctor, "She's your daughter, do something!" The Doctor didn't say anything, and there was a crashing from down to other end of the stone tunnel.

"Something's coming!" Jenny shouted and the Doctor instantly pulled the three of them back, but only watched as his own daughter confronted the threat.

"It's the Hath!" the second soldier yelled, and they both immediatly began shooting, the bullets smacking against the air with the sound rebounding off the walls.

"Get down!" Jenny yelled back at them, and Martha ducked as bullets pinged off the wall above her head. The Doctor pulled Donna back as she grabbed Luke's hand, but he pulled it free and rushed towards the girl.

"Stop, come back!" the Doctor shouted after him in panic.

"Luke!" Donna screamed as the guns fired all around them and the blasts filled the air.

"What are you doing? GO!" the Doctor's daughter yelled back over her shoulder at Luke as he ran up behind her.

"Why are you fighting?" he asked her quickly, trying to ignore the shouting of the other soldiers and the gunshots. "Think about it!"

"It's what I know to do, now get BACK!" she yelled, shoving him backwards with one arm while still shooting.

"You don't have to do this-let go!" Luke struggled as the Doctor pulled him away by his waist and back to where Donna and Martha were cowering.

"There's no point, she won't listen," the Doctor tried to explain, but Luke cut in sharply.

"I did! You don't understand-"

"We'll have to blow the tunnel!" the soldier beside the girl shouted and Luke gave up as the Doctor released him and ran off. "Get the detonator!"

"We're not detonating anything!" he yelled back before he was forced to fall away or risk being hit by a shot. At the front before the strange creatures named the Hath more soldiers crumpled to the ground, and Luke felt a blast of fear for the new girl and the others who, he guessed, were the same. He took and involuntary step forwards, but Donna stopped him and pulled him down beside.

"Just wait," she pleaded.

"But-"

"Luke, there's nothing you can do..." They were so wrapped up in the argument and the chaos that nobody heard Martha's muffled screaming as she was dragged away.

Back in the thick of things, the Doctor's daughter planted a vicious kick on a Hath's chest and it grunted and fell away before she ran for the detonator lying on the ground.

"Grab it, blow the thing!" the soldier commanded frantically.

"No, don't, you don't have to listen to him!" Luke yelled at her at the exact same time as the Doctor noticed his companion at the other side of the tunnel, locked and struggling, helpless in the grip of the Hath.

"MARTHA!"

"STOP!" Luke lunged for the yellow detonator as the girl went to press the button, and wrenched it from her hands.

"What are you doing?" she screamed furiously as she snatched for it, but he was too quick and pulled it away.

"You'll regret it," he warned, agony his voice, but her face presented only anger.

"You will soon if you don't give it back!" She suddenly leapt forwards and wrestled him to the ground, and the two of them both tried to keep a hold of the detonator before Jenny managed to tug it away.

"No, don't!" the Doctor bellowed as her hand slammed against the button and an alarm began to blare loudly. As though she were shot from a cannon she sprinted away, and they followed, the alarm still piercing in their ears. They had just rounded a corner, when the air around them exploded in blast of orange and yellow fire. Momentarily blinded by the lights, Luke felt arms close around him and as his vision returned saw the horrified face of Donna as she stared at the wall of crumbled stone and debris blocking the tunnel's end, dust drifting before it and the crushed remains of rock tumbling down in bits before settling.

"You sealed off the tunnel!" the Doctor roared at Jenny, fire flashing in his eyes with a hatred Luke had never thought he could have. "Why did you do that?"

"They were trying to kill us!" Jenny answered with disbelief at what she must have considered his stupidity.

"But they've got my friend!"

"Collateral damage," she said coolly while he glowered down at her. "At least you've still got them," she said, nodding at Donna and Luke then at the soldier panting with his hands on his knees. "He lost both his men. I'd say you came out ahead."

"Her name's Martha," Donna spat, regarding the girl with complete contempt. "And she's not 'collateral damage', not for anyone! Have you got that, GI Jane?!" She stared-or rather glared-her down, and she avoided her eyes.

"It's not her fault," Luke said, and Donna shook her head.

"Stay out of it-"

"But it's not!" he pressed. "You have no idea! She's only doing what she thinks is right because she doesn't know any better!"

"Luke, it's not the same," the Doctor said quickly, looking at her with hard, cold eyes.

"How?" he challanged, feeling the first spark of hostility towards the Doctor that he had ever felt, the very idea of hating the man who helped him making him feel sick-but he was getting close. "HOW? And you're her dad, someone needs to help her!"

"I'm not really her dad!"

"But you are! You're the closest thing to a family she's got!"

"Doesn't 'she' get a say in this-" Jenny started angrily but the Doctor carried on as if she didn't exist.

"She's not my daughter and I'm not her father-"

"Just like Sarah-Jane wasn't my mother?" Luke shouted, finally snapping. The Doctor still looked livid, but was frozen now, as if his body had locked him to protect him from feeling remorse. Donna, however, looked close to tears.

"No, that's not what he means," she began shakily, putting a hand on his shoulder. But he kept his eyes pinned on the Doctor.

"It's the actions that make a parent, it doesn't matter if they're family in the 'normal' way or not! If you don't like her or even think of her as real person, not just a soldier, then what am I?" he asked frostily. "You don't have to like it. Just leave her alone." The tense silence held steady for a few moments, while the Doctor's newly created daughter watched Luke with interest. Then the Doctor nodded.

"Yeah. Yeah...fine. Right," he said, then sniffed and tossed his head back. "I'm going to find Martha-"

"You're not going anywhere," the soldier said, cocking his gun. "You don't make sense. No guns, no marks, no fight in you. As for you," he said, casting an eye over Luke, "Who knows what you are. I'm taking you to General Cobb. Now move."

They were lead away down corridors, guns always trained on them, the Doctor and Donna having a whispered conversation behind Luke as they walked.

"But he's right though," Donna whispered to the Doctor who refused to look at her. "She's your daughter."

"No," he hissed, staring at the floor. "She's nothing. She's nothing to do with me."

"Stop being such a..." Donna stopped as Luke spoke to the girl, and the Doctor sighed as she shot him a look that dared him to say anything.

"My name's Luke," he told her. "Do you...do you have a name?" She shrugged.

"It's not been assigned," she said casually, seeming indifferent to the fact.

"If you don't know that what do you know?" Donna cut in, much to the Doctor's annoyance, who tossed his head as though irriated by an irksome fly.

"How to fight," she said bluntly.

"Nothing else?" Donna continued.

"The machine must embed military history and tactics, but no name," the Doctor said with no emotion, just as a statement. "She's a generated anomaly."

"Then we'll give her a name," Luke said coldly, then spoke to her and said what Maria had said to him. "You can choose your own name."

"Generated anomaly," Donna repeated. "Generated. Well, what about that? Jenny." She smiled at Jenny then Luke, and he felt a burst of affection that she was on his side.

"Jenny," she said, testing the name out. "Jenny...yeah, I like that. Jenny."

"It suits you," Luke said, and she shot him a grin.

"Did you choose your name?" she asked him. Luke shook his head.

"I had help. My mum...she suggested it for me. It was a name she liked." He stopped speaking, the usual pain beginning to blossom from the dark pit inside him. Oblivious, Jenny carried on.

"Mum? Was your mum like my dad?" she asked.

"No," Luke said softly, sadness washing over him. Before he began to drown in it all over again, Donna decided it was time to move on from the subject.

"Anyway, 'Jenny'!" she said loudly. "What do you think, dad?"

"Good as anything, I supposed," he muttered.

"Not what you'd call a natural parent, are you?" she critisized.

"They stole a tissue sample at gun point and processed it, it's not what I'd call natural parenting," he shot back.

"Rubbish, my friend Neriss had twins using a turkey baster, it don't bother her!"

"Can I extrapolate a relationship from a biological accident?" the Doctor asked her.

"Biological accident?" Luke echoed, and the Doctor looked away guiltily as though just remembering he was there. "She's not a 'biological accident'!"

"Oh God this is turning into an ethical debate," Donna said to herself. "Doctor, what is wrong with you? You've reached a whole new level of strange!"

"No, he's just prejudiced," Luke said cuttingly. The Doctor stopped and grabbed him by the shoulders.

"No. Believe me, Luke, I mean no offense," he said, but Luke kept glaring at him. "It's only her. Not you."

"Why?" Luke and Jenny both asked.

"I just...I just can't have a daughter. She's not my daughter just because I created her! Someone must have created you," he said to Luke, changing his tone. "A big space squid by the sounds of it, that doesn't make you one of them, does it?"

"You know it's different, you're her biological dad, you share DNA," Luke snapped. "I'm not stupid, you can't fool me or manipulate me!" The Doctor broke eye contact and ran a hand through his hair, looking stressed.

"...No."

"Then explain," Donna suggested gently while Jenny looked at him pleadingly. The Doctor stared at her, for a moment considering it.

"So, where are we going?" he asked the soldier brightly, turning his back on them all. Running from the problem, as usual.

"See for yourself," the soldier said as they entered an enormous room like a theatre, a tannoy system listing the names-or numbers-of the dead, more people emerging from machines and other soldiers cleaning or preparing weapons. Like a city undergound, as the Doctor called it.

The Doctor soon began talking to and, naturally, disagreeing with the white haired, stern faced General Cobb over their war with the Hath and dead generations-Luke saw Jenny standing awkwardly, unsure of where her loyalties lay.

"Are you OK?" he asked her quietly.

"Yeah," she said as lightly as she could. He was about to press on, when Donna pointed out the buried windows and the symbols on the walls.

"The rites and symbols of out ancestors," Cobb explained, and Jenny looked to him like a child learning, recognising and understanding fragments of knowledge that she already had. "The meanings lost in time."

"How long has this war gone on for?" the Doctor asked.

"Longer than anyone can remember," Cobb replied, seeming unshaken but saddened. "Countless generations marked only by the dead."

"What, fighting all this time?" Donna asked sympathetically.

"Because we must," Jenny added firmly, aggression on her face and upset confusion in her eyes-they were shattering her beliefs, it was natural she wanted to protect them. Luke remembered having nothing and having to be blindly guided-he was lost, in more than a literal sense. If he had something, anything to cling to, he would have. "Every child of the machine is born with this knowledge. It's our inheritance, it's all we know. How to fight and...how to die." As she finished, she looked from the Doctor to Donna questioningly. Luke knew what she was asking herself-was that right or wrong?

Good or bad?

"That's wrong," Luke said, because no one else spoke. "We could help you. Give you more-right Doctor?" He glanced at the Doctor, who said nothing, and instead stormed off to look at a map of the underground tunnels.

"He hates me," Jenny stated.

"He doesn't, he's not normally that way," Luke tried to explain, but she shrugged.

"That makes it worse. It doesn't matter. I'll show him." She smirked, then practically skipped after him. Luke, feeling older than he had ever felt in his life, followed her and listened as they spoke of finding the legendary source of the creation myth, the breath of life breathed by the Great One, the female God they worhsipped. What they were fighting for.

Then the Doctor, the pacifist, blundered. Innocently he discovered the hidden layer of information, and unwillingly brought about the beginning of another mission and another fight.

"Once we've reached the temple peace will be restored at long last," Cobb said as he marched with soldiers and gave orders.

"Call me old fashioned but if you really wanted peace couldn't you just stop fighting?" the Doctor asked, irritated.

"Only when we have the source. It will give us the power to erase every stinking Hath off the surface of this planet," Cobb said chillingly.

"Hang on, hang-a second ago it was peace in our time, now you're talking about genocide!"

"For us, that means the same thing!"

"Then you need to get yourself a better dictionary. When you do, look up genocide. You'll see a little picture of me there and the caption will read, "Over my dead body"!"

This argument, unfortunately, landed them all in a prison cell.

Sat in the tiny cell, after discussing the source and hearing from Martha, they had a long wait ahead.

"So you're like me?" Jenny asked Luke, who was sitting beside her. The Doctor was on the other side of the cell, leaning against the wall as though determined to put as much space between himself and Jenny as possible.

"Yeah, I am."

"What war are you part of?" she asked. At this, Donna looked up. She knew some of the story, but not all-it was a touchy subject. Luke had only told the Doctor late one night, unable to sleep and exploring the impossible amount of rooms on the TARDIS, amazed despite the stories his mum had told him. He liked and trusted Donna, but there was something safe about the Doctor. Perhaps it was his link to Sarah-Jane. But now he got it out in the open.

""I was created by an alien race-the Bane- to find out why 2% of people didn't like this soft dring they were going to use to take over the Earth," Luke said. "They put it on the market and it would 'convert' them. It was supposed to be the ideal drink, but not everyone liked it. I was only a small part. Creating me was no problem to them."

"Hang on," Donna said, looking incredulous. "You were created so some aliens could force us to drink fizzy drinks?" Luke nodded. "Was it at least good tasting?"

"I didn't drink it," Luke said, shrugging. "It probably tasted like orange. The drink was orange. 'Bubbleshock' never really gave much away."

"'Bubbleshock'?" Donna asked, looking gobsmacked. "Neriss wouldn't shut up about that stuff, apparently it turned everyone into zombies and one minute she was in her living room, next thing she knew she was in the middle of a road-nearly got hit by a truck! I said she was nuts and it wasn't pop she'd had too much of, but she would not shut up!"

"Well...she was right," Luke said, puzzled. "We stopped it, but...you didn't see any of it?"

"Oh, no, I was in Prague," she said, waving her hand. "And I never drank that stuff, it was terrible! It tasted of something, but it certainly wasn't orange."

Jenny, meanwhile, was looking at Luke. "We're alike," she said. "Both created for a purpose."

"You have the Doctor," he said, a little sullenly. "I wasn't made that way, I don't have anyone. Not anymore."

"Hey, that's not true," Donna said, putting an arm around him and jostling him playfully. "You've got me. Us." Luke remained silent. Because he knew, deep down, one of his reasons for wanting to defend Jenny. It was the need to belong to something, to have some kind of family who were bonded by more than just being together-by blood or species. Sarah-Jane was different, she was there from the start. And Maria, but she had her own life.

"Right now you've got more than I do," Jenny said, looking pointedly at the Doctor. He held her gaze for a few seconds, before breaking it off and looking at the ground.

Soon the soldiers could be heard shouting battle cries in the distance, their voices travelling faintly to the cells.

"We march! To war, with the Hath!"

"They're getting ready to move out, we have to get past that guard," the Doctor said urgently, moving from listening at the bars to where Luke, Donna and Jenny stood.

"I'll deal with him," Jenny instantly offered, rising from her seat eagerly and heading for the door.

"No, no, no," the Doctor said grimly, holding her back. "You're not going anywhere. You belong here with them," he said hatefully. Jenny looked wounded, and Donna appalled.

"She belongs with us!" Donna fought back, taking her arm comfortingly. "With you. She's your daughter!"

"If she's staying, so am I," Luke decided stubbornly, sitting down again with his arms folded. The Doctor looked from him to Jenny hopelessly.

"I...no...but...you're coming! I can't leave you here, Sarah-Jane wouldn't have forgiven me," he said, holding his hand out to Luke in desperation. Luke did not take it, and looked up at him.

"Sarah-Jane would have helped Jenny!"

"If he's not going, I'm not going!" Donna snapped, plonking herself down beside Luke.

"This is ridiculous!" the Doctor snapped furiously. "Donna, Luke, up!"

"Look who's giving orders to his troops," Jenny commented wrily. The Doctor whirled on her.

"I'm trying to get them to see sense!"

"We're trying to get you to see sense!" Donna shot back. "She. Is. Your. DAUGHTER."

"She's a soldier, she came out of that machine!"

"Oh, yes, I know that bit!" Donna said, looking fed up. "Listen, have you still got that stethoscope? Give it to me. Come on!"

After sighing, the Doctor obliged like a misbehaving little boy obeying his mother, and handed it over reluctantly before stepping back as Donna used it on Jenny.

"Two hearts," Luke realised, and glanced at Donna. "Does she have two hearts?" Donna didn't reply and turned to the Doctor.

"You. Listen, and then tell me where she belongs," she challenged. Slowly, with a look of something like fear on his face, he did, Jenny watching him constantly.

"...Two hearts," he confirmed dully.

"Exactly," Donna said.

"What's going on?" Jenny asked, looking confused.

"He's a Time Lord," Luke explained, coming to her rescue. "And they have two a hearts, a binary vascular System."

"So does that mean she's a..." Donna paused, frowning. "What do you call a female Time Lord?"

"What's a Time Lord?" Jenny demanded to know, looking irritated. The Doctor replied, but remained looking at Donna.

"It's who I am, it's where I'm from."

"And I'm from you?"

"You're an echo, that's all," he said, red-hot anger and despair in his eyes, a look of intense grief. "A Time Lord is so much more. A sum of knowledge, a code, a shared history, a shared suffering." Jenny looked stung at his rejection, but neither Donna or Luke dared say anything this time as the Doctor appeared to hold back tears, swallowing and tensing as though trying to hold back a scream.

"And it's gone now," he said. "All of it. Gone forever."

"...what happened?" Jenny asked what everyone was thinking.

"There was a war," he said shortly.

"Like this one?" He nearly laughed at her suggestion, but he wasn't amused.

"Bigger. Much bigger."

"And you fought?" she asked. "And killed?" Regretfully, pained, he nodded.

"Yes," he said, his voice below even that of a whisper.

"Then...how are we different?" Jenny asked, almost on the verge of tears herself. This wasn't about ethic anymore-she needed someone, or something. Luke remembered how that felt, how he had wanted a home. That first, awful feeling of neglection when Sarah-Jane turned him down. Strangely, it was the people who were most lonely who never let anyone in.

The Doctor said nothing.

* * *

The Doctor, Donna and Luke watched as Jenny sidled up the the bars of the door, and began talking in a strange way the guard-slowly, alluringly.

"...what's she doing?" Luke whispered, puzzled, then suddenly understood as she slammed her lips against the guard's. "Oh." He had no clue how that would help them, until in a flash the gun was out of his pocket and in her hands, the end pressed against him. They broke apart, she she smiled sweetly at the terrified guard.

"Keep quiet and open the door," she requested cheerfully. The Donna smirked at the Doctor, after watching Jenny proudly.

"I'd like to see you try that," she said to him. The Doctor looked like he didn't know whether to be insulted or not.

After escaping and distracting more soldiers with a remote controlled, squeaky mouse that the Doctor-oddly-had in his pocket and knocked him out (Jenny's addition to the plan) they found one of the hidden tunnels the Doctor had accidently made apparent, and still more of the strange numbers engraved on a silver plaque.

"You get a pen, a bit of paper?" Donna asked the Doctor, staring at the numbers thoughtfully. He pulled some from his pockets (Luke wondered if they were bigger on the inside too, they seemed to hold an enormous number of things) and passed them to her.

"Why? What is it?" Luke asked her curiously.

"The numbers are counting down," she said. "This one ends in 1 and 4, the prison cell said 1 and 6."

"Counting down?" Luke asked. "To what? Or they could be numbering the rooms. There were loads of them, I remember seeing them...you're right, they are going down."

"Maybe," she said, biting her lip and scribbling down the numbers. Jenny shook her head.

"You lot, always thinking!" she exclaimed, as though it was the strangest thing to do. "Who are you people?"

"I told you, I'm the Doctor," the Doctor said whilst using his sonic screwdriver, the buzz sounding at the same time as they spoke.

"The Doctor? That's it?" Jenny said in disbelief. Donna rolled her eyes.

"That's all he ever says..."

"So you don't have a name either?" Jenny said to him, seeming interested. "Are you an anomaly too?"

"No."

"Oh, come off it," Donna disagreed. "You're the most anomalous bloke I've ever met!"

"There it is!" the Doctor exclaimed in triumph as a panel came off the wall in his hands.

"And Time Lords, what are they for exactly?" Jenn continued, and the Doctor looked around with a frown.

"For? They're not...they're not for anything," he said while messing behind the wall panel, working under the blue light of the screwdriver.

"So what do you do?" she asked, looked purplexed.

"I travel. Through time and space."

"He saves planets," Donna added majestically. "Rescues civilisations, defeats terrible creatures-and runs a lot. Seriously, there's an outrageous amount of running involved." Beaming at the idea, Jenny now turned to look at him in admiration. She looked like she wanted to say more, but then the wall slid back and the Doctor leapt up.

"Got it!" he cried, then turned as he heard voices coming up the tunnel. "Now-what were you saying about running?" he asked, then rushed through the newly revealed entrance, the three of them at his heels.

They ran, their feet pounding against the ground, until the were met with strings of deadly red light blocking their path. There was a silence as they took it in.

"...that's not mood lighting, is it?" Donna eventually said, and the Doctor plunged his hand into his pocket, pulled out the robotic mouse and lobbed it at the lights. There was a buzz, and the mouse exploded into nothing but sparks and a tiny puff of grey smoke, causing Donna to flinch.

"No, didn't think so," she said miserably.

"Arming device," the Doctor growled, and immediatly set about investigating a wall panel, trying to find a way to disable it. Donna was looking at more sets of numbers and Luke was about to help them, when Jenny pulled him to one side.

"What's travelling with my Dad like?" she asked him. Luke thought for a minute.

"It's scary, fun, and dangerous. And yeah, lots of running," he joked, then paused. "I always seem to be running from something."

"He saves people?" she checked, and he nodded. "Did he save you?"

"...Yeah. After my mum died, he helped me," he said quietly. Jenny tilted her head.

"What was she like?"

He started to reply, but his voice was snatched from him suddenly as the pain came flooding back again. He remembered every detail of his life with her-what he had seen, what he felt. Her face, in perfect detail. It had reached the point where he missed her so strongly and grieved with so much hurt that he would give anything to forget. The memories were good ones, but they were just that. Memories. And with no more to come, the past was poisoned by mourning. It was worst at night, lying in the dark alone. He couldn't even see her or his friends in a dream. It was only a terrible sense of loss, or blackness. Sometimes, briefly, he could push it from his mind. But it never stayed gone.

Jenny looked confused at his abrupt silence. She couldn't understand his mourning-death was normal, it happened all the time. It was a part of war, a part of life.

"You better hurry up!" Donna called, snapping Luke and Jenny out of their thoughts and halting the Doctor. "The General!" Sure enough, they could hear him shouting orders nearby. Snapping into action, Jenny began to run in the direction of the sound, gun raised, before the Doctor grabbed her and held her back.

"Where are you going?"

"I can hold them up!"

"No, we don't need anymore dead," he begged.

"But it's them or us," Jenny reason, but the Doctor kept a tight hold of her.

"It doesn't mean you have to kill them," he said, looking like he trying hard to keep calm. Jenny made a sound of irritation.

"I'm trying to save your life!"

"Listen to me," he said seriously, putting his hands on her shoulders. "The killing, after a while it infects you, and once it does you're never rid of it."

"But we don't have a choice."

"We always have a choice." They kept eye contact, but then there was another bang from behind them, and Luke saw it leap into her eyes to replace the sympathy-a killer's instincts.

"I'm sorry," she said, pulling free and darting off.

"Jenny!"

Gunshots could be heard from where she ran to, and the Doctor looked from Luke to Donna knowingly.

"Told you. Nothing but a soldier," he spat, getting back to work on the panel.

"She's trying to help," Donna defended. Carefully, quietly, Luke backed away from the bickering pair before turning and running as fast his legs could carry him to where Jenny was crouching, shooting ruthlessly at the approaching soldiers.

"You don't want to do this!" he shouted of the bangs and cries. "This isn't you!"

"I'm trying to save you!" she called back, still focusing on firing, her body shuddering at the force of the bullets exploding from the gun she was holding.

"Listen, there's you-the you that the Doctor gave you, the Time Lord part of you," he tried to explain hurriedly. "But then there's the soldier, what you were made to be! You have to overcome it!" The General hurtled around the corner and Jenny dropped to the floor like a stone, then froze as she looked at the gun in her hands as though just realised what she was holding. She looked at Luke, and he looked back understandingly.

"Just choose not to," he said, then the Doctor's voice yelled out down the tunnel.

"Jenny, come on! Luke!"

"I'm coming!" she called back, the firing still happening around her. Then the command came from General Cobb.

"Cease-fire!" he shouted, then addressed Jenny as she rose slowly, her gun slacked at her side. "You're a child of the machine," he said. "You're on my side. Join us. Join us in the war against the Hath." Now Jenny stood straight, facing him, and he extended his arms as if to welcome her. "It's in your blood, girl. Don't deny it!"

Stony faced, Jenny raised and pointed her gun at him, cocking it. She held it there, then her gaze flickered down to Luke, who shook his head, then back to General Cobb. In a split second she had made her decision and fired the bullet-not at him, but at the pipe above them, releasing smoke that submerged Cobb and the soldiers. Seizing the moment, Jenny and Luke tore back down the tunnel to where the Doctor and Donna stood waiting.

"Come on!" the Doctor yelled at them in panic.

"Hurry up!" Donna cried. "Luke, Jenny, get a move on!"

But, before they could reach them, the red lights sprung back into place again. Jenny stopped dead in the nick of time, and Luke nearly ran into her and narrowly avoided slamming into her and killing them both.

"No! The circuits have moved back!" the Doctor said in horror.

"Zap it back again!" Donna shrieked at him.

"The controls are back there!" the Doctor panicked, looking distraught as he stepped forwards, wanting to help, but held back the deadly rays of light.

"They're coming!" Jenny cried out as the soldiers could be heard. The Doctor looked around desperately.

"Wait! Just...there isn't...Luke, Jenny, I can't..."

"Do something! Donna screamed. "Slide under it, you can't leave them there!"

On the other side, Luke had ran for the controls and was frantically slaming buttons and pulling wires, working feverishly.

"They're nearly here," Jenny gasped, then came up beside him. "Listen, I think I can get accross but-"

"Go," he interrupted, not turning from the control panel as he focused. "I'll find a way."

"Take this," she said, pressing the gun into his hands. He took it, only to place it down on the floor.

"No."

"You'll be killed!"

"Go!" he shouted, and Jenny hesitated for a moment, then she was a blurr as she navigated through the beams, flipping over and through the gaps, her skin not even brushing the light. But before she reached the end, the system shut off entirely and she was left a clear path.

"Yes!" Wasting no time, Luke ran after her, and Donna wrapped him in a hug while the Doctor flung his arms around Jenny when they reached them.

"That was impossible!" Donna gasped, and the Doctor grinned widely.

"Not impossible, just a bit unlikely!"

"I didn't kill him!" Jenny said happily as she and the Doctor parted. "General Cobb, I could have killed him but I didn't! You were right," she said, looking from him to Luke. "I had a choice!"

With no time to talk as Cobb and the soldiers caught up they all began the legendary running again, slowing as they put some distance between them, the Doctor following the map. After some silence, Jenny spoke to Donna.

"So you and the Doctor travel together, but you're not...together," she checked, just to clarify.

"What?" Donna looked astonished. "No, no, no way! Oh no, we're friends, that's all. I mean, we're not even the same species, there's probably laws against it or something." Jenny laughed, then nodded at Luke.

"And him? Have you...adopted him or something?" she asked.

"No," Luke immediatly replied at the same time Donna said "Yes." As there was an awkward pause and Luke looked down at his trainers, Jenny swiftly moved the subject on.

"So...so um, do you enjoy it? Travelling?" she asked Donna, who's face broke into a grin.

"Oh, never a dull moment. It can be terrifying, brilliant and funny, sometimes all at the same time. I've seen some amazing things though," Donna said, and Luke heard the same, almost loving tone in her voice as Sarah-Jane had when she spoke of what she had seen. "Whole new worlds."

"I'd love to see new worlds," Jenny breathed wistfuly, staring up as though she could see through the grimy metal ceiling and up the stars and planets above.

"You will," Donna said, and Luke looked up at her hopefully. "Won't she, Doctor?"

"Hmm?" The Doctor said, turning.

"D'you think Jenny will see any new worlds?" she asked slyly. The Doctor thought, then a smile grew.

"I suppose so." There was a moment before it sunk in for Jenny what he was saying, and her mouth opened.

"You mean...you mean you'll take me with you?" she gasped joyfully. Donna kept grinning, and Luke found he was too-her happiness was infectious, and with Jenny, who he'd known from the beginning of her life, it felt as though a family was gradually beginning to start within the TARDIS. The Doctor, Donna, Jenny and him. Together.

"Well," the Doctor said to Jenny with the air of giving her a great gift, "I can't leave you here, can I?"

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" she squealed, bouncing up and down in her excitement and then throwing her arms around his neck in a grateful hug before letting go quickly, as though she couldn't wait to get on to the promised new worlds. "Come on. Let's get a move on," she said, galloping off chirpily.

"Careful!" the Doctor shouted after her. "There might be traps!"

"I'll go with her," Luke offered, hurrying after her before the Doctor or Donna could say anything.

"Hang on-wait!" the Doctor yelled as he rounded a corner and flew out of sight. "You be careful too! Both of you!"

"Kids," Donna said with mock annoyance. "They never listen!" Seeing the Doctor wasn't laughing, she gave him a knowing look. "Oh, I know that look. See it a lot round our way-blokes with pushchairs and frowns. You've got dad shock," she informed him, looking amused.

"Dad shock?"

"Sudden unexpected fatherhood," she explained. "It'll take a bit of getting used to."

"No, it's not that," the Doctor said bluntly, gazing ahead, seeming miles away.

"Well, what is it then? Having Jenny in the TARDIS, is that it? We already have Luke. Is that it? Too many kids running about the place? Is she gonna cramp your style, like, you've got a sports car, she's gonna turn it into a people carrier?"

"Donna...I've been a father before," he told her. From the look on her face he could have sprouted a second head.

"What?"

"I lost all that a long time ago. Along with everything else."

"I'm sorry," Donna said sympathetically. "I didn't know. Why didn't you tell me? You talk all the time, but you don't say anything."

"I know, it's just...when I look at her now I can see them," he said, his eyes filled with a dark sorrow. "The hole they left, all the pain that filled it. Already when I see Luke all I can think of Sarah-Jane, then everyone else, every other companion that left me or I left behind. And now Jenny...I just don't know if I can face that every day."

"It won't stay like that. She'll help you," Donna tried to persuade him gently. "We all will."

"When they died that part of me died with them," he said sadly in disagreement. "It'll never come back. Not now."

"I'll tell you something Doctor," Donna said in a quiet voice. "Something I've never told you before." She looked directly at him. "I think you're wrong."

In a sudden blast of the sounds of laser beams, Jenny and Luke rushed back, Jenny bounding up to them as though she were playing some fantastic game of chase with the soldiers.

"They've blasted through the beams!" she told them happily. "Time to run again! Love the running. Yeah?"

"Love the running," the Doctor repeated, unable to stop the smile from tugging at his lips before they all hurried off, Jenny leading the way, only to hit a dead end.

"We're trapped!" Donna exclaimed in panic, looking around wildly.

"We can't be," the Doctor said. "This must be the temple." Suddenly, he pressed himself against a portion of the bright red metal wall. "This is a door," he realised.

"The numbers," Luke said, seeing the familiar print on the wall. "They're still counting down."

"We're down to 1 and 2 now," Donna noticed, while the Doctor tried to unlock the door and Jenny kept a lookout.

"But...it's not a cataloguing system, is it?" Luke asked her. She shook her head.

"No, they're too similar. Too familiar."

"What else uses numbers?" Luke asked her, but before they could think any further the door opened at last.

"Got it!" the Doctor cried, and they all pushed through quickly, the soldiers close behind them.

"Close the door!" Donna bellowed, and the Doctor pressed a buttons with a few bleeps and it slid shut just before the soldiers were upon them.

"That was close," Jenny beamed along with the Doctor.

"No fun otherwise," he said, before they both leapt off to look around. Donna sighed and looked to Luke.

"Time Lord madness," she said, but Luke could tell she didn't really disapprove. "Come on!"

They caught up with Jenny and the Doctor, who were looking around in awe.

"Not what I'd call a temple," Donna said, wrinkling her nose at the metal and steam and abundance of controls.

"Wait..." Jenny said as they leant over a pole and looked out. "That looks more like..."

"Fusion-drive transport," the Doctor and Luke said at the exact same time. Donna put her hands on her hips, looking ticked off.

"..._what_?"

"It's a space ship," Luke explained, staring around at the cavernous room that seemed entirely made up of metal and control panels. "I've been on one like this before. Similar, anyway."

"When were you ever on a spaceship?" the Doctor asked him with a frown. "Apart from the TARDIS?"

"I won't a game of Laser Tag with my friend."

"Yes, good for you, but that still doesn't explain why you were on a spaceship."

"It was being run by an alien who recruited the winners to fight in a war, and they were teleported from the game to a spaceship," he said casually, while the Doctor blinked at him and Donna looked gobsmacked. "It's OK though, we stopped him in the end."

"This laser tag, what is it?"Jenny asked, and he explained as best he could, and she raised an eyebrow.

"So on your world children are trained as soldiers?" she asked.

"It's not like that," Luke said, guessing where she was going.

"You're pretending to kill!" she protested. "Did you find it fun?"

"No, it's not serious..." Luke trailed off, as deep down, he wondered if Jenny was right. Lots of games featured war, fighting and violent death, especially some of the video games that Clyde had. He tried not to show how much he disliked them, as he would just be called 'sad'. He asked his mum and Maria about, and both said they were just games and not real-but why create them in the first place?

Maybe Jenny was right.

"So is this the original spaceship?" Donna asked, changing the topic of conversation. "The original one the first colonists arrived in?"

"Well, it could be, but the power cells would have run down after all that time," the Doctor said. "This one's still powered up and functioning."

"But there is a spaceship," Luke pointed out, gesturing around at it. "It must have come from somewhere."

"Yes, you're right," the Doctor said thoughtfully, mostly to himself. "Something about this whole thing doesn't make sense. Come on!" He shouted suddenly in that way he had, and ran off again, taking them up a series of metal steps onto another level where he stopped suddenly-golden sparks were flying from the cracks in the nearby door as someone tried to break through.

"It's the Hath," Jenny said as they ran up behind him. "That door's not going to last much longer, if General Cobb breaks through down there war's going to break out." In the tension and terror of the moment, the Doctor sprinted off...to immediatly target the nearest computer.

"Look!" he said proudly like a kid finding an easter egg. "Ship's log. First wave of Human/Hath co-colonisation of Planet Messaline."

"So it is the original ship?" Donna checked. "What happened?"

"There's one construction," the Doctor said, still reading the information appearing on the screen. "They used robot drones to build the city." Donna gave him an irritated look at his geek-like interest; now wasn't the time for a history lesson.

"But does it mention the war?"

"Final entry," the Doctor carried on seriously, still reading. "Mission commander dead, still no agreement on who should assume leadership."

"Hath and Humans have divided into factions," Luke finished reading, and the Doctor leapt back from the computer, Donna almost able to see the cogs working in his brain.

"That must be it! A power vacuum! The crew divided into two factions then turned on each other!" He turned to Jenny and Luke excitedly. "Start using the progenation machines and suddenly you've got two armies, a never ending war."

"Two armies who are now both outside!" Jenny pointed out.

"But the ship still doesn't make sense," Luke added, and the Doctor and Jenny looked at him while Donna wondered past. "How can it still be working?"

"Look at that!" Donna exclaimed, and they saw she was looking at another one of the number sequences, this time on a digital screen.

"It's like the numbers in the tunnels," the Doctor said, and Donna held up her hand that was holding a pen, the paper with the other numbers on in the other.

"No, no, but listen," she said, teaching him for once. "I spent six months working as a temp in Hounslow Library and I mastered the Dewey Decimal System in two days flat. I'm good with numbers! It's staring us in the face! Like Luke said! What uses numbers?"

"The time, equations, age..." Luke trailer off as realisation struck him. "Of course! And that means...the ship!" Donna nodded, smiling.

"Exactly!"

"What?" Jenny asked. "What is it?"

"It's the date," she told them, looking pleased. The Doctor hurried forwards, and she pointed out numbers on the screen. "Assuming the first two numbers are some big old space date, then you've got year, month, day. It's the other way around, like it is in America."

"Oh, it's the new Byzantine Calendar!" the Doctor, said, slapping his forehead, looking like he couldn't believe he could be so stupid. Luke nodded in understand, but Jenny just looked stunned.

"The codes are completion dates for each section," Donna explained further. "They finish it, they stamp the date on. So the numbers aren't counting down, they're going out from here day by day as the city got built."

"Yes! Oh, good work Donna!" the Doctor said, and Luke half expected him to pull out a dog treat for her.

"Yes, but you're still not getting it!" she continued. "The first number I saw back there was 60120717. Now look at the date today," she said, waving a hand at it. "Luke was way ahead of you, figured it out the second I said it. You're getting slow!"

"...0724...no," the Doctor gasped in shock.

"What does it mean?" asked poor Jenny, who was still completely lost.

"Seven days," the Doctor said.

"That's it!" Donna said excitedly. "Seven days!"

"Seven days," the Doctor repeated, his eyes wide.

"That's only a week," Luke added.

"What do you mean seven days?" Jenny asked impatiently.

"Seven days since the war broke out," the Doctor said, still looking like he couldn't quite believe it.

"This war started seven days ago," Donna said to Jenny slowly. "Just a week. A week!"

"But they said years," Jenny gasped. Donna shook her head.

"No. They said _generations_. And if they're all like you and they're products of those machines..."

"They could have twenty generations in a day," the Doctor finished. "Each generation gets killed in the war, passes on the legend. Oh, Donna you're a genius!"

"But all the buildings, the encampments, they're in ruins!" Jenny continued, still refusing to believe it.

"They're not ruined, they're just empty," the Doctor corrected her. "Waiting to be populated. They've mythologised their entire history."

"And the source?" Luke remembered, and the Doctor's face lit up in understanding.

"The source must be part of that too, come on!" he bellowed, and they were off again, running down corridors, up steps, round a corner until-

"Doctor!"

"Martha!" The Doctor swept his companion into a hug, Martha laughing and Donna breathing a sigh of relief. "I should've known you wouldn't stay away from all the excitement!"

"Donna!" Martha laughed, and they rushed forwards to embrace.

"Ooh, you're filthy, what happened?" Donna asked as she released the mud splattered Martha.

"I er...took the surface route."

Hearing General Cobb breaking in, they prepared to speed off again, when Martha stopped and sniffed curiously.

"Is it me or can you smell flowers?" she asked. The other sniffed tentatively.

"...yes," the Doctor said in surprise. "Bourgainvillea! I saw we follow our nose." Now following the strange but sweet, fragrant smell the hurried up more stairs, a little more slowly this time, until they found themselves in what could only be described as a lush forest that seemed to have grown out of the ship itself, bright, colourful flowers and vibrant green leaves amongst the tall trees and plants.

"Oh yes!" the Doctor said in awe. "Isn't this brilliant?"

"Is that the source?" Donna asked as they approached a glass sphere perched on a metal pillar, fillwed with a swirling green and golden mist.

"It's beautiful," Jenny said, taking the words right out of Luke's mouth.

"What is it?" Martha asked.

"Terraforming! It's a third generation terraforming device."

"So why are we suddenly in Kew Gardens?" Donna asked, looking around at the trees and plants.

"That's what it does," Luke explained before the Doctor could, who stepped back and allowed him take the reins, a teacher guiding a student. "It creates this, only normally bigger."

"It's in a transit state," the Doctor continued. "Producing all this must help keep it stable before they find-" He was drowned out as there was loud crash, and the Hath flooded in from one side, the Humans lead by General Cobb on the other, their weapons already primed.

"Stop!" the Doctor yelled, holding up his hands to either side. "Hold your fire!"

"What is this, some kind of trap?" Cobb asked suspiciously.

"You said you wanted this war over," the Doctor said quickly.

"I want this war won!"

"You can't win, no one can," he explained. "You don't even know why you're here. Your whole history, it's just Chinese whispers!"

"Chinese whispers?" Luke asked Donna, wondering what Chinese people whispering had to do with anything.

"Later," she whispered.

"It's getting more distorted the more it's passed on!" the Doctor continued loudly to the Humans and The Hath. "This is the source!" he announced, gesturing to the sphere before him. "This is what you're fighting over! A device to rejuvenate a planet's ecosystem. It's nothing mystical, it's from a laboratory, not some creator! It's a bubble of gases, a cocktail of stuff for accelerated evolution! Methane, hydrogen, ammonia, amino acids, proteins, nucleic acids. It's used to make barren planets habitable!" The soldiers on both sides looked unsure now, but neither lowered their weapons. "Look around you. It's not for killling, it's for bringing life. If you allow it, it can lift you out of these dark tunnels and into the bright, bright sunlight. No more fighting. No more killing." The Doctor picked up the sphere and held it high in the air. "I'm the Doctor, and I declare this war over!" And, in one alimighty gesture, he threw the sphere to the ground where it smashed into glittering shards, the golden mist escaping and spreading out in tendrils, reaching out to the soldier and floating above them. Captivated, each side lowered their weapons.

"What's happened?" Jenny asked, staring up at it, her face bathed in the gold of the light and the new life and beauty she had found.

"The gases will escape and trigger the terraforming process," the Doctor explained.

"What does that mean?" she asked. The Doctor grinned a grin of pure joy that she mirrored exactly.

"It means a new world."

Luke noticed it a split second before Jenny did-General Cobb. He was about to call out, when she with her soldier's skills saw him out of the corner of her eye, sensed the danger half a second before he even raised the gun.

"No!" she flung herself in front of the Doctor, her father, and the bang rang out awfully as the bullet ripped from the end of Cobb's gun, meant for the Doctor. But Jenny took it in her chest instead, crumpling in the Doctor's arms.

It didn't happen in slow motion. It happened too fast, too fast for anyone to do anything. Cobb was restrained, and Luke dropped to his knees beside her, suddenly realising how desperately he needed her to survive, for someone, anyone to even slightly understand what it was like to be him.

"Jenny? Talk to me Jenny!" the Doctor begged, his arms shaking as he cradled her. Luke grabbed her hand, while Martha felt for her pulse and inspected the wound.

"Is she going to be OK?" Donna asked. With tears in his eyes, Luke looked up in time to see Martha give the tiniest shake of her head.

"A new world," Jenny said breathlessly, her voice fighting against the pain as she stared up at the light. "It's beautiful."

"Jenny, please hold on. You need to hold on, do you hear me?" the Doctor pleaded, a manic expression on his face that he quickly smoothed out to smile at her reassuringly. "We've got things to do, you and me, hey? Hey? We can go anywhere," he said while Jenny held onto his every word, a tear welling up and sliding down her face. Because he was listing what she would now never do. "Everywhere, you choose."

"That sounds good," she said, more tears brimming as her eyes searched his face. He wiped them away, holding her face in his hands.

"You're my daughter, and we've only just got started," he said, a catch in his voice. Holding her hand, Luke could feel her slipping away. She turned her head a fraction to look at him.

"At least...I'm free," she choked out, giving him a grateful smile. Luke felt a warm teardrop of his own on his cheek, and couldn't return to smile.

"You're going to be great," the Doctor said, still clinging to his empty words. "You're going to be more than great, you're going to be amazing. Do you hear me, Jenny?" She gave him one last, faint grin, before her eyes drifted shut and her head lolled to the side, her body going limp. The Doctor pressed his head to hers, and Luke let go of her hand, and felt Donna's on his shoulder.

"Can't she regenerate?" Luke asked desperately. "Mum said the Doctor could...if she's like him then maybe she can..." His voice dissolved into sobs as it all became too much-his mum and Jenny. Dead. They were never coming back.

Donna pulled him close in a tight hug, but it wasn't her that he wanted. He could love her, but never like Sarah-Jane.

"Two hearts," he heard the Doctor say with hope. "Two hearts, she's like me. Luke, like he said...if we wait, if we just wait..."

"But there's no sign Doctor," Martha said as gently as she could. "There's no regeneration. She's like you, but...maybe not enough."

They kept talking, but Luke couldn't hear, not properly. He didn't know why he was crying so hard. He couldn't stop, he was choking on his own sobs and tears as he leant against Donna's shoulder.

"It's OK," Donna whispered in his ear. "It's just delayed, that's all. About Sarah-Jane."

The Doctor looked up at Sarah-Jane's name after laying Jenny carefully to the ground to rest, and something in him appeared to snap, and he stood up straight, marched over to where Cobb was on his knees and snatched up the very same gun used to shoot Jenny from the ground and held it in front of General Cobb's forehead, his hand and body trembling as he took deep breaths, his anger shaking him and boiling his blood as he stared at the man who had killed his daughter before she had even had the chance to truly live. The man who had brutally cut short her life. The man who now looked at him, his eyes begging for mercy.

Donna, Martha and Luke watched him to see what he'd do, transfixed, horrified and shocked at how the Doctor, the usually peaceful man, had turned. As they began to think he might just shoot, he brought down the gun and leant in close to Cobb's face.

"I never would," he snarled, and Cobb looked at him regretfully. "Have you got that? I NEVER WOULD! When you create this new world of Human and Hath, make the foundation of this society, and man who NEVER WOULD!" he roared, the fury in his voice shaking every single person in the room to their core. Then, with one last look of undiluted disgust, the Doctor chucked the murder weapon to one side carelessly, letting it clatter to the floor, then walked back over to where Jenny lay and crouched down beside her, looking at her morosely.

* * *

After laying Jenny's body to rest, they returned Martha to her home. Donna and Luke stayed in the TARDIS whilst the Doctor walked Martha up her street-Luke had barricaded himself in his room, and Donna was sitting outside with her back against the door, ready and waiting for him to come out.

"Goodbye, Dr Jones," the Doctor smirked after hugging Martha in farewell. She smiled up at him.

"You just...take care, yeah?" she requested anxiously. He nodded, avoiding her gaze.

"Yeah. Yeah, course I will."

"And then there's Donna," Martha carried on. "She loves travelling with you. And Luke, he needs you. You're both grieving."

"...yeah," the Doctor said quietly. "Everyone I'm close too always...anyway," he said brightly, flashing her a grin that she couldn't help see Jenny in, "it's been great. I might see you again."

"Maybe," she laughed, then said on a serious note, "But if it gets too dangerous, promise me you'll send him somewhere safe. I've seen how dangerous it is out there. He's just a kid."

"He's Sarah-Jane's son," the Doctor said simply. "I'd give up my own life for his."

"You might not always get the choice," Martha warned. "Just be careful. Better to be safe than sorry."

And with one last hug, they parted.

* * *

The next day, Donna had gone to the kitchen to make breakfast, taking advantage of the momentary quiet, mournful as it may be.

"OK, we're out of waffles," she shouted to the Doctor from the kitchen, "And seeing as the toaster exploded so mysteriously in an incident that was absolutely nothing to do with you, that means cereal or fruit."

"I'll have a banana then," he called to her. She went over to where the fruit bowl made of a thin, alien kind of golden and silver flecked metal sat.

"There aren't any!"

"Second cupboard on the right."

Donna went to the cupboard, and opened it to find it completely stuffed with bunch after bunch of bananas.

"What the...?"

"You think that's amazing, you should see the TARDIS's banana grove."

"Tell me you aren't serious!"

"What? Banana's are good," the Doctor said defensively.

"Whatever, weirdo. What's Luke having?"

"Don't know. I'll find him."

The Doctor walked off to Luke's room and rapped against the door with his knuckles.

"Luke? You better claim some breakfast before Donna eats everything," he said loudly in a voice that could travel through the wood. There was nothing but complete silence from the other side. "Luke?" Opening the door cautiously, the Doctor peered around the doorframe to see nothing but an empty room. "Ah."

Making the decision not to worry Donna (after all the TARDIS was easy to get lost in) he began to search for Luke. He wasn't in the second living room, or the library, or the banana grove, or anywhere else. He was about to start worrying when he noticed something strange. A door set into the wall that wasn't there before.

Cautiously but with a crackle of electric excitement in his blood, he reached out and gently pushed it open.

"No way," he gawped. The room was an exact copy of how the TARDIS had been years back, when...

Sarah-Jane, he realised, all excitement evaporating into misery. It was her TARDIS.

He could see the way to other rooms, but now they were in the console room, and Luke stood in the center with his back to the Doctor, staring at the pixilated, transparent image of his mother that had been projected into the room.

"She showed me," Luke said in a voice thick with tears, and the Doctor moved forwards to stand behind him, not needing to ask who he meant. The TARDIS would have known what Luke wanted. Sometimes, when he was alone, the TARDIS would give the Doctor and image of Rose-she had come last night, when he was close to tears again after losing Jenny. The TARDIS comforted him, and now she tried to do the same for Luke.

But the Doctor knew all too well that it could do more harm than good. They were just faint imprints of the real person, and their vacant eyes looked right through you as you stared at them, wanting nothing more than to be able to hug them, touch them again. But all you were really doing was clinging to a ghost.

"Why did she show me?" Luke asked, tears spilling over. "It looks like her," he said shakily, and he was right. The woman before him stood straight backed and tall, her shoulders pushed back and her head raised confidently, an amused smile on her face. Luke reached out a hand and the Doctor was about to stop him when he did of his own accord as the picture flickered, reminding him that it wasn't real.

"I understand," the Doctor said, finding himself tight chested as he glanced at the ghostly Sarah-Jane. "Really, I do. And I'm sorry."

"I want her back. Bring her back," Luke asked in a small voice, and the Doctor's heart plummeted-he had been waiting for this. "You can travel in time, you save people, bring her back. Bring mum back, I need her."

"I'm so sorry," he said again regretfully, feeling a sickening pang of guilt and sadness. "I can't."

"Why?" he asked in a trembling voice that became raised in anger. "Why not?"

"Some things are fixed," he said gently. "They can't be removed from time, not ever-it would be disasterous. I would, I really would...I want to, but I just can't."

"What about Jenny? The TARDIS created Jenny, can't you save Jenny-"

"It was already a paradox," the Doctor tried to explain. "It's a weak point now, and even then..."

"Then what's the point?" he shouted, tears flooding down his face as he whirled to face him. "What's the point of this, of anything! If you can't save anyone you care about, what's the POINT?"

The Doctor didn't say anything, and Luke began to tremble.

"Well?"

"She's dead," the Doctor said quietly instead of answering, and Luke pressed his lips together, to hold back a cry of agony or a sob he didn't know. "Leave her in peace."

"She's not in peace! She's dead, she's just gone!" Luke shouted, his anger flaring up again. "You can't..."

"You know we have to let her go," the Doctor said sympathetically. "She wouldn't want you to hurt others for her." The rage seemed to gradually leave Luke, but it left something even worse-a crushed, broken shell of a person.

"But it's not fair," he whispered.

"...I know." Moving over to the console, the Doctor flicked a switch and the image of Sarah-Jane flickered and vanished. Then he pulled Luke into a hug, and a slight gong rang out around them in the TARDIS as it grieved with them.

By Luke's request, he showed him her old room. Without saying a word, Luke stared around, taking it in, then curled up on her bed, looking blankly into space.

"I want to be by myself," he requested hoarsely. "Please. Just go."

The Doctor obliged, returning to the familarity of his newest TARDIS design, where Donna was sitting at the table, looking shell shocked as she stared at the bowl of cereal and single banana lying on the table.

"Jenny's just died," she said lowly. "And we're just going to sit here and eat breakfast?" The Doctor pulled up a chair beside her and took her hand in his.

"Yeah," he said simply. There was nothing else they could do except keep laughing and keep travelling. The Doctor couldn't save Jenny or Sarah-Jane or anyone else he had lost, but maybe one day he could go back and just see Sarah-Jane again. But for now they would do what he always did.

Run.

**A/N** **So for the sake of this story Sarah Jane's death is a fixed point eveh though the actress died four years later** **A/N** **Special thanks to my beta reader Kberry who spices up my stories and doesn't seem to mind when I keep changing my mind on what story I am working on**


	4. Chapter 4 Unicorn and the wasp

**I own no one**

In a lush, beautifully kept garden with a light wind picking up and tousling the leaves of the sunbathed trees, the bright blue TARDIS made its entrance, fading in and out until it sat fully in the reality of that moment, nestled in the grass as if it had always been there and always should have been.

"Ah, smell that air!" the Doctor said, stepping out of the TARDIS smartly with his euphoria evident on his beaming face. "Grass, lemonade, and a little bit of mint. Just a hint. Must be the 1920's," the Doctor deduced modestly.

"...How do you know that? Is it some kind of Timelord abilty? You can't tell the year by smelling the air. Can you?" Luke looked almost nervous that his belief system of how things worked was about to be shattered yet again. "I don't understand."

"Of course he can't," Donna snorted, and nodded at the upcoming vehicle as the Doctor shot her an indignant look. "That big vintage car _may_ have given it away. You see, Luke, sometimes people like to pretend that they're smart. They need the ego boost."

"I resent that," the Doctor sniffed.

"And you've got so much of an ego already you'll explode if it gets any bigger. Now come on, after that posh car to 1920s Poshville!" Donna said bossily with a grin, bounding after it. "Get a move on!"

"We better obey or our head's will be on a spike," the Doctor muttered, following after, looking humbled. Luke, however, looked terrified.

"What?" he panicked.

"Oh, no-sorry, not literally," the Doctor said quickly, realising his mistake. "Luke, if anyone ever says something absolutely ridiculous, like...I don't know, 'I'll eat my hat', better just assume they're being sarcastic."

"...I do travel with you," Luke reminded him anxiously, already worrying about how difficult that would be. "Remember the Sontaran, the alien like a talking potato? And that planet full of singing trees? And the purple space slug?"

"You'll just have to do your best," the Doctor said cheerfully, which Luke considered to be the worst advice the Doctor had ever given him (apart from the time when he had gotten drunk on a banana milkshake that Donna had spiked with Vodka, and he had informed him in the middle of a drunken rant never to trust a 'cat-slash-nun-slash-nurse' and that pears were evil and should be wiped out of existance).

They joined up with Donna and looked out onto a huge garden party on the lawns of an enormous, grand house full of finely dressed people chatting and laughing, a smartly dressed butler wandering to and forth.

Never mind planet Zog!" Donna said excitedly, her eyes shining as she observed the seen. "A party in the 1920s, that's more like it!"

"Could we go?" Luke backed her eagerly, agreeing that it would be nice to have a break from murderous aliens and inhospitable planets. With a leap of excitement, he realised that this was his first time travelling backwards in time. They had the chance to go back to times long dead, and what better thing to do than celebrate with a party?

"Trouble is," the Doctor said, faking disappointment and regret. "We haven't been invited. "Oh I forgot," he added, grinning cheekily as he pulled his psychic paper out of his suit pocket and waved it at them. "Yes, we have."

"Right then, back to the TARDIS!" Donna almost squealed, grabbing the Doctor's arm and spinning him around.

"What? Why?"

"I'm not going to a fancy-pants party like this, have you seen what they're wearing?"

* * *

A few minutes later, the Doctor pounded on the TARDIS door impatiently.

"We'll be late for cocktails!" he shouted.

Donna and Luke had gone inside to change into more appropriate clothes, but the Doctor had stubbornly refused to change out of his own.

"Oh come on," Donna had said, disappointed. "You must have a fancy, smart suit somewhere! Maybe a little bowtie?"

"No," he had replied with a firmness that surprised her. "I own one, but I'll never wear it. It's unlucky, bad things happen when I wear it. Or maybe it's the bowtie. In any case, things usually explode."

"Aw, I think you'd look adorable in a little bowtie!"

"Not. Happening. In all of time and space, I will never ever ever ever ever ever wear that suit or any kind of suit or poxy little bowtie again, times infinity! Now get changed!"

Now Donna emerged from the TARDIS, sporting a new hairdo, glittering jewellary and dress. She leant against the doorframe in a mock-flirty fashion.

"What do you think? Flapper or slapper?" she asked, and for a moment the Doctor remembered Rose stepping out in the middle of snowy Cardiff in a long, sweeping dress and softly curled hair after telling him not to laugh...he had told her she was beautiful...

Quickly, the Doctor pulled himself together.

"Flapper, you look lovely," he said, grinning extra widely incase Donna mistook his momentary pause. "Where's Lukey-boy? Luke! It's a 1920's party, it doesn't come around every day you know!" the Doctor called and Luke appeared, dressed in dark blue trousers, a crisp white shirt with a collar, and a newsboy cap and braces. The effect was slightly ruined as he was still wearing his trainers, since he couldn't find any appropriate shoes.

"Oh well," Donna sighed, shrugging as she looked at them. "Maybe you'll be a trend-setter."

* * *

Upon reaching the party, the light music ringing in the air and drinks in their hands, they were approached by a glamorously dressed woman, every inch of her her radiating wealth and elegance. A woman wearing an ornately designed, almost invisible mask that just managed to hide whatever her true identity was.

"Ah, Lady Eddison!" the Doctor said joyfully, holding out both hands in greeting. "Pleasure to meet you again!" Even as she greeted him, Lady Eddison looked confused as her smile faltered and her mask of confidence slipped slightly.

"Forgive me, but who exactly might you be...?" she asked, and Luke saw the Doctor thinking quickly. "And what are you doing here?"

"I'm the Doctor," he said confidently, then nodded in Donna's direction. "And this is Miss Donna Noble of the Chiswick Nobles. And Luke, who-I think you'll agree-is wearing an absolutely spiffing hat."

"Quite," Lady Eddison said politely, and Donna bobbed in a curtsy, shaking her hand.

"Good afternoon my Lady," she said, her voice suddenly rich and posh in a most un-Donna-ish way. "Topping day, what? Spiffing. Top hole."

"No, no, no, no, no. No, don't do that," the Doctor muttered to her, then said more sharply as she opened her mouth again, "Don't. We were thrilled to recieve your invitation, My Lady," he beamed, turning back to the baffled Lady Eddison and showing her the psychic paper. "We met at the Abassador's reception."

"Doctor, how could I forget you?" Lady Eddison said, as if suddenly (and impossibly) remembering. "But one must be sure with The Unicorn on the loose."

Luke frowned as he wondered how a mythical creature could possibly make anyone suspicious in this way.

"A unicorn?" the Doctor said seriously. "Brilliant. Where?"

"_The_ Unicorn," Lady Eddison elaborated. "A jewel thief. And nobody knows who he is. He's just struck again-snatched Lady Babington's pearls from right under her nose," she said dramatically.

"Funny place to wear pearls," Donna said under her breath before taking a sip of her drink.

After Lady Eddison more guests were announced-her husband, the wheelchair-bound Colonel Hugh Curbishley and her son Rodger Curbishly, the glamorous Robina Redmond and the Vicar, Reverend Golightly. Then, apparently, a woman who needed no introduction.

"...who is she?" asked Luke as the other guests burst into applause when the blonde woman approached. The Doctor looked just as blank as he did.

"No idea." The woman politely turned down the applause, and extended a hand to Donna by way of greeting.

"Agatha Christie," she stated simply.

"What about her?" Donna asked, while the Doctor's jaw dropped. The woman looked puzzled.

"That's me," she said, and Donna's mouth dropped wider than the Doctor's.

"No!" she gasped. "You're kidding!"

"Your books are amazing," Luke said in awe, fascinated and excited but still nowhere near as starstruck as the gawping Doctor.

"I wasn't aware my books were read by children," Agatha said with interest, but the Doctor was unable to contain himself long enough to allow her to have a conversation with Luke and discuss the matter any further.

"Agatha Christie!" the Doctor exclaimed excitedly, shaking her hand almost violently. "I was just talking about you the other day! I said 'I bet she's brilliant'! I'm the Doctor, this is Donna and Luke. Oh! I love your stuff! What a mind! You fool me every time. Well, almost every time. Well, once or twice. Well, once. But it was a good once!" Agatha smiled modestly, then ran her eye over them.

"You make rather an unusual family," she commented.

"Oh no-"

"No," Donna said hastily. "No, he's not my husband, we're not a family."

"Nope."

"Never ever. Not married. And Luke...no, he's not our son..."

"No..."

"Not that I don't like him, it's just..."

"We...I mean...he couldn't be because...because obviously we haven't-"

"Oh God, DEFINATELY not," Donna said firmly, and Agatha nodded.

"Well, obviously you're not married," she said, glancing down at Donna's hand. "No wedding ring."

"Oh! You don't miss a trick," the Doctor said, still grinning widely.

"And I'd stay that way if I were you," Agatha said in a cool voice, although Luke got the odd impression that it wasn't meant for them. "The thrill is in the chase, never in the capture. But out of curiosity, if you are not a family, who exactly are you three?"

"Oh, Donna is my...friend," the Doctor said lamely. "My best friend, and Luke's her nephew. Both of his parents are dead. From fever."

"My condolences," Agatha told him. "But best move on an enjoy the party. After all, time passes and all good things slip away. Everything leaves and everything dies in the end."

"Um-thanks," Luke said, slightly stunned at her rather bleak view on things.

"Blimey, she's not happy is she?" Donna whispered to them.

"Mrs Christie," Lady Eddison butted in, seemingly desperate to be included. "I'm so glad you could come, I'm one of your greatest followers. I've read all six of your books," she said, an arm firmly around her shoulder as she led her away. "Is er, Mr Christie not joining us?"

There was now a definate tensing of Agatha's jaw.

"Is he needed?" she asked stiffly. "Can't a woman make her own way in the world?"

"Don't give my wife ideas," the Colonel joked, and managed to diffuse the tension slightly. As the other guests began to discuss Agatha's latest book, Donna joining in with their laughter, the Doctor wandered over to the nearest newspaper, shook it out and scanned the front page. Luke decided to follow, much preferring the idea of actually learning and reading something instead of clambering for the attention of Agatha Christie like the others.

"Say, where on Earth is Professor Peach?" Rodger asked. "He'd love to meet Mrs Christie."

"He said he was going to the library," the Vicar said casually, and Luke reached the Doctor as Lady Eddison sent her made, Miss Chandrakala, to collect the Professor.

"The date," the Doctor told him in a hushed voice, tilting the paper so he could see it.

"Oh," Luke breathed, and they shared a glance. Noticing them, Donna came over.

"What?" she asked.

"The date."

"What about it?"

"It's the day Agatha Christie disappeared," the Doctor explained. "She's just discovered her husband was having an affair. No one knows exactly what happened, she just vanished. Her car will be found tomorrow morning by the side of a lake. Ten days later, Agatha Christie turns up at a hotel in Harrogate. Said she'd lost her memory. She never spoke about the disappearance till the day she died. But whatever it was..."

"It's about to happen," Donna finished in shock.

"Right here, right now."

Suddenly, a screech rang out as Miss Chandrakala ran accross the lawn towards them in a panic.

"Professor!" she screamed. "The library! Murder! Murder!"

Soon they had burst into the said library, to find a man-pressumably Professor Peach-sprawled on the floor, dead.

"Bashed on the head," the Doctor decided, inspecting the body. "Blunt instrument. Wacth broke as he fell, time of death was quarter past four."

"A bit of pipe," Donna said darkly. "Call me Hercule Poirot, but I reckon that's blunt enough."

"Why, though?" Luke asked. "And whoever it was didn't even try to hide the body, they just left him here with the evidence..."

"The plot thickens," the Doctor muttered, flicking through some papers. Luke was about to turn to get the tiny piece of paper he had spotted the second he walked in, but saw Agatha Christie snatch up when she though nobody was looking. The Doctor, he noticed, looked at her out of the corner of her eye-he must have seen in the reflection of the glass. But Luke remembered exactly what the paper said.

Maiden.

"Doctor," Donna said, standing and hurrying over, Luke following. "The body in the library. I mean, Professor Peach in the library, with the lead piping."

The other guests flooded in and soon began to become hysterical.

"Someone should call the police," Agatha said, but the Doctor whipped out his psychic paper and flashed it around the room quickly.

"No need. Chief Inspector Smith, Scotland Yard, known as The Doctor," he said briskly. "Miss Noble is the plucky young girl who helps me out."

"I say," Lady Eddison gasped. "And the boy?"

"Work Experiance," the Doctor said firmly. "Mrs Christie was right. Go into the sitting room, I will question each of you in turn." They were quickly ushered out, and Donna fumed as the Doctor dropped down to the floor and began looking around like a sniffer dog.

"'The Plucky Young girl who helps me out'?" she asked scathingly.

"No policewomen in 1926," the Doctor said without even glancing at her.

"I'll pluck you in a minute! And why don't we phone the real police?"

"Oh, the last thing we want is PC Plod sticking his nose in," the Doctor said, reaching out and pulling up a gloopy, golden sap-like substance with the end of a pen. "Especially now I've found this. Morphic residue."

"Left behind when a species changes its shape," Luke said, staring at it in awe.

"Yep."

"The murderer's an alien," Donna said in disbelief.

"Which means one of that lot is an alien in human form," the Doctor said thoughtfully.

"Yeah, but think about," Donna said. "There's a murder, a mystery, and Agatha Christie."

"So?" the Doctor asked carelessly, sniffing the substance. "Happens to me all the time."

"No, but isn't that a bit weird?" Donna pressed on. "Agatha Christie didn't walk around surrounded by murders, not really. I mean that's like meeting Charles Dickins and he's surrounded by ghosts. At Christmas." The Doctor paused.

"Well.."

"Oh, come on!" Donna said, exasperated. "It's not like we could drive accross country and find Enid Blyton having tea with Noddy! Could we? Noddy's not real. Is he? Tell me there's no Noddy!" The Doctor grabbed Donna by the shoulders and looked at her seriously.

"There's no Noddy," he informed her firmly.

"Who's Noddy?" Luke asked curiously.

"Everyone knows Noddy!" Donna exclaimed, and he shrugged.

"I don't."

"We'll, he's this funny little book character with quite a big head and this funny little hat, and he lives with all of these other-"

"Donna, Luke!" the Doctor interrupted loudly. "There's a murder mystery. You can talk about Noddy and the Faraway Tree later, but for now we have more pressing matters on out hands!"

"What's the Faraway Tree?"

"Well, you see, there's this great big tree-"

"DONNA!"

* * *

They rushed downstairs, Donna still jabbering on as they went.

"Next thing you know you'll be telling me it's like 'Murder on the Orient Express' and they all did it," Donna said scathingly, just as Agatha Christie appeared from the next room.

"Murder on the Oriend Express?" she asked curiously.

"Oh yeah, one of your best," Donna said, ignoring Luke has he shook his head frantically.

"But. Not. Yet," the Doctor said pointedly. Agatha looked deeply thoughtful.

"Marvellous idea, though," she said.

"Yeah," Donna said slyly. "Tell you what. Copyright, Donna Noble. OK?"

"ANYWAY, Agatha and I will question the subjects," the Doctor said. "Donna, you search the bedrooms, look for clues. Any more residues." The Doctor reached into his coat pocket and pulled out an enormous, comic looking magnifying glass that he handed to Donna, who looked at it.

"Is that for real?"

"Come on. You're ever so plucky," the Doctor said, and Donna grabbed the magnifying glass stroppily and proceeded up the stairs. "Right then! Luke, you have a nose around the rest of the house. See if you can spot anything or anyone looking suspicious."

"OK," Luke said obediantly, but Agatha looked scandalised.

"But he's just a boy, no older than fourteen at the very most!"

"Well, um-"

"You cannot possibly allow him to investigate a murder!"

"He can look after himself-"

"But the point still stands! No, I won't allow it!"

"There's just one...one small problem, Agatha, that you really should have noticed. He's gone."

"Oh."

"Quite."

* * *

For a long while, Luke found nothing except a few grand rooms. He was considering searching the grounds, when something fell down past the window in front of him. Looking down, he saw a small box lying in the flowerbed below.

With the familiar adrenaline rush, he hurried up the next flight of stairs to the room directly above, just in time to see Miss Redmond leaving her room. As she saw him, she shot him a smile.

"Hello, are you lost dear?" she asked sweetly.

"No," he said. "Actually, I was wondering if anything might have...fallen out of your window."

"Fallen out of my window?" she let out a high laugh. "But I couldn't possibly be so clumsy. Why would you ask such a thing?"

"I saw something fall past the window of the room I was in," he said steadily, not about to relent. Because although she was smiling, her eyes remained strangely hard, calculating.

"Probably just a bird, my love."

"There was a box in the flowerbed underneath the window," Luke said coldly. "You dropped it out of the window on purpose, didn't you?" In a split second her smile was gone, and Luke suddenly found himself pinned up against the wal by a scowling Miss Redmond.

"Listen here, you brat," she snarled, her fruity voice replaced with a common cockney accent. "You don't speak a word of this to anyone, got it?"

"Or what?" he said bravely.

"Or there might just be one more murder," she snarled, then released him roughly. "Now run along," she said, her voice tinkering and flawless again. She herself marched off, her golden dress swaying around her knees, looking every inch the respectable woman she was pretending to be.

Suddenly, there was a distant smash, and a piercing scream penetrated his eardrums that could only belong to Donna Noble.

"DOCTOR!" she screamed. "DOCTOR!"

Breaking into a run, Luke ran towards the sound of the screams, and reached Donna in the hallway at the same time as the Doctor and Agatha.

"There's a giant wasp!" Donna said, her voice quietly shocked and terrified.

"What do you mean a giant wasp?" the Doctor asked, frowning.

"I mean a WASP, that's GIANT!" Donna said furiously, and the Doctor raised his eyebrows.

"...is this sarcasm?" Luke asked uncertainly. Agatha, meanwhile, scoffed.

"It's only a silly little insect!" she said.

"When I say giant," Donna hissed, "I don't mean big. I mean FLIPPING ENORMOUS! Look at its sting!" They all looked down at the bottom of the door, where a huge, black and pointy stinger had been rammed through.

"Let me see," the Doctor said urgently, passing into the room. The room was large an dusty, the tattered rug no littered with glittering shards of glass from where the waps had smashed its way in.

"It's gone," the Doctor said, rushing to the open window. "Buzzed off."

"But that's fascinating," Agatha said breathlessly, bending down to look at the broken sting.

"Don't!" the Doctor warned, hurrying over to stop her. "Don't touch, don't touch it! Let me." He bit the top off of a test tube he had been carrying in his pockets (the stange sort of thing he owned) and collected a sample of the yellow goo. "A giant wasp. Well, tons of amorphous insectivorous Life forms, but none in this galactic vector."

"I think I understood some of those words," Agatha said. "Enough to know that you're completely potty!"

As they went down the stairs again, a scream rang out from outside, followed by a nasty sounding, ominous thud.

By the time they reached the source, Miss Chandrakala was nearing her end, lying on the gravel with a stone statue lying upon her, a trickle of blood from her mouth.

"The...poor...little...child," she croaked, befoe her eyes fluttered shut and she became still. There was a buzzing above them, and the waps swooped out.

"There!" the Doctor shouted. "Luke, go to the kitchens, keep everyone calm! Donna, Agatha, after it!"

Luke ran off and into the kitchens, were the servants looked to him in panic.

"We heard a noise-"

"What's going on?"

"There was screaming!"

"What happened?"

"Er...Miss Chandrakala is...dead. But stay calm," he added hastily as there was a sharp intake of breath and one of the maids let out a wail and started to sob. "No, don't..."

"How?" someone else demanded to know.

"I think a...a giant alien insectivorous life form pushed a statue off the roof that landed on her."

" A what?" the maid wailed, sniffing and blowing her nose loudly as she was passed a tissue. He wanted nothing more than to lie, but he felt that they deserved the truth, no matter how stupid it might sound.

"A giant wasp."

* * *

Later Luke found Donna and Agatha outside, Agatha by the flowerbed, clutching the very box the Miss Redmond had threatened him over.

"I forgot about that," he said, hurrying over to them. Donna looked around at him.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I saw it fall down from upstairs earlier. I think we should take it to the Doctor."

Soon they sat in the drawing room, the Doctor looking through the box which turned out to contain numerous silver tools.

"Someone came here tooled up," he commented. "Sort of things a thief would use."

"The Unicorn!" Agatha gasped in realisation. "He's here!"

"Um," Luke said guiltily, and they all stared at him. "Actually...she's here. I think, at least. Lady Redmond."

"How do you know that?" Donna asked, stunned.

"I saw the box fall past a window upstairs, and went up to the room above and saw her leaving. I asked her about, but she told me not to say anything or there'd be another murder."

"She WHAT?" Donna shrieked, half leaping outof her seat but pushed back down again by the Doctor. "That little cow! Oh, I'll show her, just you bloody wait!"

"I would have told you earlier, but things kept getting in the way," Luke said, still feeling guilty. "I'm sorry."

"No, it's fine," the Doctor assured him as a tray of drinks were set down by the butler before them.

"So she's the murderer! Let's tell the others, arrest her, and let me give her slap in the face!" Donna exclaimed, but Agatha looked unsure.

"It's not certain that she is the killer," she said slowly.

"What?"

"The fact that she is the Unicorn does not necessarily mean that she is also the killer," she contained. "I think it best to conceal this information until more evidence comes to light."

"Are you having a laugh? Until 'more evidence comes to light'? We've found nothing. Come on Agatha, you must be able to do something!" Donna pushed, but she looked uncomfortable.

"Oh, I don't know-"

"But Miss Marple would have overheard something vital by now," Donna said more kindly. "Because they think she's just a harmless old lady."

"Clever idea...Miss Marple?" Agatha asked slowly. "Who writes those?"

"Um, copyright Donna Noble. Add it to the list."

"Donna," the Doctor said grimly.

"OK, we can split the copyright."

"No...something inhibiting my enzymes," he gasped, then suddenly he lurched forwards before jerking back again, grunting in pain. "I've been poisoned," he managed to gasp as her jerked in his chair, and Agatha snatched up his glass.

"It's Cyanide," she said in horror after inspecting it. "Sparkling Cyanide!"

"No!" Luke could help but bursting out, grabbing the glass himself. "No, it can't be-"

"I'm so sorry," she said despairingly as the Doctor leapt up and hurtled out of the room into the kitchens, stumbling so her knocked over pots and pangs with a clang.

"Ginger beer!" he roared, grabbing the nearest person with a sense of urgency.

"I beg your pardon?"

"I need ginger beer!"

"The gentleman's gone mad!" one of the maids said in shock, and he rushed past her to a cupboard where he pulled down a bottle and began to chug down the content, pouring the rest over his head.

"I'm an expert in poisons," Agatha said quickly. "Doctor, there's no cure! It's fatal!"

"Not for me!" he gasped, collapsed against and gripping onto the kitchen counter, spitting out some of the ginger beer as his breaths came in shuddering gasps. "I can stimulate the inhibited enzymes into reversal! Protein, I need protein!"

"Walnuts!" Donna shouted, ramming them into his hands. "What else? Whate else?" she asked desperately as he chewed and mimed with his hands. "I can't understand you! How many words? One, one word! Shake? Milk! Shake! Milk! Milk! No, not milk! Um, shake?! Shake, shake, shake-Cocktail shake! You want a Harvey Wallbanger?"

"HARVEY WALLBANGER?" the Doctor burst out.

"Well I don't know!"

"How is Harvey Wallbanger one word!"

"What do you need, Doctor!" Agatha interrupted quickly.

"Salt!" he yelled, sweat breaking out on his forehead. "I was miming salt! Salt, I need something salty!" Donna ran over and picked up a paper bag and presented it to him. "What is it?"

"SALT!"

"That's too salty!"

"Oh, that's too salty!" Donna said angrily, looking as though she wanted to hit him with the bag of salt she was clutching.

Seeing Donna was getting nowhere, Luke grabbed a jar of anchovies and passed it to him.

"They're anchovies," he said, trying not to show how scared he was.

"Brilliant." The Doctor popped off the top and tipped the jar straight up and into his mouth.

"What is it, what else?" Donna asked him as he gestured wildly again. "Um, it's a song! Um...I don't know! Camptown Races!"

"CAMPTOWN RACES?"

"All right then, Towering Inferno!"

"Shock!" Luke yelled at her. "I read it in the Gallifreyan Medical text, he needs a SHOCK!"

"Yes, give me a shock! I need a shock!"

"All right then," Donna said, looking oddly like she was preparing herself. "Big shock, coming up." Then without warning she grabbed him by the shoulders and slammed her mouth against his in a kiss, and Luke didn't know about the Doctor, but it certainly rooted him to the spot with shock. It certainly wasn't a natural kiss, as small gagging sounds could be heard from them mouth before they pulled apart, the Doctor throwing his head back and releasing a kind of smoke from his mouth.

Everyone in the kitchen watched, open mouthed, as he gave out one last cough and inhaled a raspy breath before bringing his head down to face them, his hair plastered to his face with ginger beer and sweat, his eyes wide.

"Detox," he said, wiping his mouth. "I must do that more often." His eyes met Donna's. "I mean the...the detox," he added awkwardly.

"What was that?" Luke asked, his voice shaky now the ordeal was over and the adrenaline rushed from him.

"Detox! Someone tried to poison me and I counteracted the effects using-"

"I understand that bit," Luke interrupted. "But...why did someone try to poison you?"

"Fear of discovery," he said grimly. "And if that's why..." he glanced around at all three of them. "Anyone of us could be in danger."

* * *

Later that night with a storm raging outside, the guests sat in the dining room by a white clothed table laden with fancy china plates and crystal bowls of fruit, slurping soap. Luke sat stiffly in his chair, wondering how anyone could possibly be so absent minded as to eat soap when the Doctor had been poisoned mere hours ago.

"A terrible day for all of us," the Doctor said darkly. "The professor struck down. Miss Chandrakala cruelly taken from us...and yet we still take dinner."

"We are British, Doctor," Lady Eddison said, as if that somehow explained it. "What else must we do?"

"Mourn them?" Luke suggested, deciding that he disliked their attittude. "Show some respect?"

"I am not about to change my ways based on the opinion of a boy," she said coldly. "I see no sense in starving ourselves."

"The Doctor was poisoned earlier," Luke said simply and, as he had expected, everyone froze with their spoons on the way to their mouths.

"Exactly," the Doctor said in a grim voice. "Anyone of you had the chance to put Cyanide in my drink. But it rather gave me an idea."

"And what would that be?" the Vicar asked.

"Well, poison. I've laced the soup with pepper," he explained, and they all glanced down at the bowls.

"Mmm," the Colonol said, taking another sip nonetheless. "I thought it was jolly spicy."

"But the active ingredient of pepper is piperine," he continued. "Traditionally used..." He looked at Luke.

"As an insecticide," he said quietly. "It will draw out the wasp."

"Oh! Anyone got the shivers?" the Doctor asked, and Luke saw Donna's eyes were pinned firmly on Miss Redmond. Suddenly the windows blew open with a forcefull gust of wind, and the candles blew out, plunging the room into darkness.

"Listen, listen, listen!" the Doctor interrupted loudly as they panicked, holding up a hand. No they stopped, a buzzing could be heard.

"No...it can't be," Lady Eddison gasped in terror before the lightening flashed once again, the buzzing increasing.

"Show yourself demon!" Agatha warned, and people jumped from their chairs.

"Nobody move!" the Doctor commanded, but of course everyone ran anyway. "No, don't! Stay where you are!" The wap appeared, bright yellow against the dark and its eyes glinting in the flashing lightning. Luke remained froze, staring at at, and trying to see through the dark for any guests that were missing apart from those he had seen run. Instead, he saw a glimse of Robina Redmond moving past him before returning to her seat...while the wasp was still there.

The room darkened again before someone flicked on a lamp and the soft orange lit lit up the wrecked room, with no sign of the wasp. The Doctor, Donna and Agatha burst back in.

"Are you all right?" Donna asked him, rushing over.

"Yeah, but it wasn't her," he said quickly. "It wasn't Redmond."

"My jewellery!" Lady Eddison gasped, feeling at her neck for her necklace. "The Firestone! It's gone! Stolen!"

In the panic, nobody noticed the next victim. But then Luke did, and went rigid, alerting Donna.

"Oh my God," she gasped, her grip on his shoulder tightening.

"Rodger," the footman said sadly, and Miss Redmond covered her mouth and screamed shrilly.

"My son," Lady Eddison sobbed, getting up and walking over to where he lay, face down in his soup bowl with a knife in his back, a terrible but largely undignified death. Somehow, the fact that it was less elaborately done and grand but it that much worse. "My child!" she cried, hugging his lifeless form and burrying her face against his dinner jacket, weeping.

* * *

The atmosphere was miserable and tense as the Doctor, Agatha and Luke sat in the living room, staring blankly into space, the lighting shining golden through the curtains every few seconds.

There was a click as the door opened and Donna returned after talking to the guests.

"That poor footman," she said sympathetically. "Rodger's dead and he can't even mourn him. 1926, it's more like the Dark Ages."

"Did you inquire after the necklace?" Agatha asked her without looking up.

"Lady Eddison brought it back from India," Donna said. "It's worth thousands." She glanced at Luke. "I think you should go back to the TARDIS."

"I'm staying here," he said instantly, having expected this to come up. "I want to help."

"Not this time. It's too dangerous, and if it is Redmond-"

"I told you, it can't be her!" Luke said, fed up with everyone treating him-not like a child-but someone who wasn't able to comprehend the situation or have an opinion. "I'm staying here, I can't go back to the TARDIS and wait for you to come back. Or not come back. If you die-"

"I'm not going to die, it would take more than a stupid wasp to kill me!" Donna said fiercely. "I promise, we'll be fine."

"I have to stay here. I couldn't handle if you did die and I wasn't here to help you," he said softly. "Please."

"Listen-"

"There's no point," the Doctor interrupted in a monotonal voice as Donna started angrily. "He's Sarah-Jane's son, and if he's as stubborn as her he's not leaving unless we physically drag him back to the TARDIS."

"Try me," Donna mumbled, but Luke could tell that he'd won. The Doctor's face was still stormy.

"This thing can sting, it can fly," he said. "It could wipe us all out in seconds, why is it playing this game?"

"Every murder is essentially the same," Agatha said in a thoughfull voice. "They are commited because somebody wants something."

"I analysed the residue, it's a Vespiform. What does a Vespiform want?" the Doctor asked, hate in his voice for the creature.

"Doctor, stop it," Agatha snapped. "The murderer is as human as you or I." The Doctor looked at her, and Luke could practically see the light bulb appearing over his head.

"You're right!" he exclaimed, walking over and sitting before her. "Oh, I've been so caught up with giant waps I'd forgotten. You're the expert."

"I've told you," she said, irritated, "I'm not. I'm just a purveyor of nonsense."

"No, no, no," the Doctor continued hastily. "Because plenty of people write detective stories but yours are the best. Why? Why are you so good, Agatha Christie? Because you understand. You've lived. You've fought, you've had your heart broken. You know about people. Their passions, their hope and despair and anger, all of those tiny, huge things that can turn to most ordinary person into a killer. Just think, Agatha. If anyone can solve this, it's you."

Less than five minuted later every single guest had gathered in that very sitting room, the Doctor and Agatha pacing at the front.

"I've called you here," the Doctor said, "on this endless night, because we have a murderer in our midst. And when it comes to detection, there's none finer. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you, Agatha Christie." She stepped up and the Doctor went to sit behind Luke and Donna, Donna looking as though she was mildly enjoying herself despite the situation, stuffing her face from the plate beside her as she listened.

"This is a crooked house," Agatha said. "A house of secrets. To understand the solution, we must examine them all. Starting with you, Miss Redmond." Everyone twisted in their seats to looked at her, and she gave them a small smile.

"But I'm innocent, surely," she simpered.

"You've never met these people," Agatha said, and she shifted slightly. "And these people have never met you. I think the real Robina Redmond never left London. You're impersonating her."

"How silly," she said, but there was a definate bite of hostility in her voice. "What proof do you have?"

"Luke saw something fall past a window directly below the toilet in your room you told the Doctor and I you had used," she said, and Miss Redmond gave Luke a furious look. "Then we found the object in the flowerbed beneath the window." At this point Agatha picked up the box and showed it to the guests. "You must have heard that Miss Noble was searching the bedrooms, so you panicked. You ran upstairs and disposed of the evidence. "

"I've never seen that thing before in my life!"

"What's inside it?" Lady Eddison asked, her eyes still red from crying.

"The tools of your trade, Miss Redmond," Agatha said, opened it and revealing it's content. "Or should I say...The Unicorn. You came to this house with one sole intention. To steal the Firestone!" There were gasps and for a few seconds silence, before 'Miss Redmond' spoke.

"Oh, all right then," she said, her false voice abandoned and common once more. "It's a fair cop. Yes, I'm the bleeding Unicorn. Ever so nice to meet you, I don't think." She got up and pulled the glittering necklace from down her dress. "I took my chance in the dark and nabbed it," she said, swinging it back and forth like a pendulem mockingly. "Go on then, you nobs. Arrest me. Sling me in jail." She threw the Firestone to the Doctor, who caught in one hand.

"So she is the muderer?" Donna asked.

"Don't be so thick," The Unicorn said scathingly. "I might be a thief, but I ain't no killer."

"Er, but you threatened him!" Donna said angrily, gesturing at Luke, and she rolled her eyes.

"Empty threat. I might have tied him to a chair or something, but not kill him."

"You deserve a slap," Donna snarled, and she grinned widely.

"Ladies, please, " Agatha interruped taughtly. "There are darker motives at work than petty theft. And in examining this household, we come to you...Colonol." Every turned to face him, and he stared at Agatha.

"Damn it woman, with your perspicacity," he growled. "You've rumbled me." Then, to everyone's shock, he rose from his wheelchair.

"You can walk!" Lady Eddison gasped. "But why?"

"My darling, how else could I be certain of keeping you by my side?"

"I don't understand."

"You're still a beautiful woman, Clemency. Sooner or later, some chap will turn your head. I couldn't bear that. Staying in the chair was the only way I could be certain of keeping you." He took her hand, then faced Agatha. "Confounded Mrs Christie! How did you discover the truth?"

"Um. Actually, I had no idea. I was just going to say you were completely innocent," Agatha said, looking just as stunned as everyone else.

"Oh!"

"Sorry."

"Uh, shall I sit down, then?"

"...I think you better had."

"So, he's not the murderer?" Donna checked through a mouthful of food.

"Indeed not," Agatha said, picking up the Firestone. "To find the truth, let's return, to this. Far more than the Unicorn's object of desire. The Firestone has quite a history. Lady Eddison."

"I've done nothing!"

"You brought it back from India, did you not?" Agatha asked, but there was compassion and not accusation in her tone. "Before you met the Colonel. You came with 'Malaria' and confined yourself to this house for six months in a room that has been kept locked ever since, which I rather think means-"

"Stop," Lady Eddison pleaded. "Please."

"I'm so sorry. But you had fallen Pregnant in India. Unmarried and ashamed, you hurried back to England with your confidante, a young maid, later to become housekeeper, Miss Chandrakala."

"Clemency!" the Colonel looked scandalised. "Is this true?"

"My poor baby," she wept. "I had to give him away. The shame of it."

"But you never said a word!"

"I had no choice. Imagine the scandal! The family name! I'm British, I carry on," she said, picking up the glass before her and downing it.

"And it was no ordinary pregnancy," the Doctor guessed, and she looked shocked.

"How can you know that?"

"Excuse me Agatha, this is my territory," the Doctor said, then addressed Lady Eddison. "But when you heard that buzzing sound in the dining room you said 'it can't be'. Why did you say that?"

"You'd never believe it."

"The Doctor has opened my mind to believe many things," Agatha said, and Lady Eddison told her story of the man she met in Delhi, the dazzling light in the sky and then the handsome Christopher...the alien How he had tragically drowned in the great monsoon and left her the Firestone.

"Just like a man," The Unircorn said unhelpfully. "Flashes his family jewels and you end up with a bun in the oven."

"A poor little child," Agatha said, and the story began to piece together. "Forty years ago Miss Chandrakala took that newborn baby to an orphanage. But Professor Peach worked it out. He found the birth certificate."

"Oh, that's maiden!" Donna said excitedly. "Maiden name!"

"Precisely."

"So she killed him!"

"I did not!"

"Miss Chandrakala feared that the Professor had unearthed your secret," Agatha carried on, Donna accusations aside. "She was coming to warn you."

"So she killed her!"

I did NOT!"

"Lady Eddison... is innocent," Agatha said. "Because at this point...Doctor."

"Oh, yes!" the Doctor said, leaping out of his chair. "Thank you! At this point, when we consider the lies and the secrets, the key to the events, then we have to consider...it was you, Donna Noble," he said dramatically, pointing at her.

"What?" she said thickly. "Who'd I kill?"

"No," the Doctor said, dropping his hand. "But you said it all along, the vital clue. That this whole thing is being acted out like a murder mystery. Which means..." The Doctor re-pointed his finger. "That it was you, Agatha Christie."

"I beg your pardon sir?"

"So she killed them?" Donna asked, popping more food in her mouth.

"No, but she wrote. She wrote those brilliant, clever books, and who is her greatest admirer? The moving finger points at you...Lady Eddison."

"Oh, leave me alone," she wept pathetically, raising another glass to her lips.

"So she did kill them!" Donna shouted, and the Doctor gave her a look.

"No! But just think. Last Thursday night, what were you doing?" he asked Lady Eddison.

"Uh, I was uh," she sniffed, "I was in the library. I was reading my favourite Agatha Christie, thinking about her plots and how clever she must be. How is that relevant?"

"Just think...what else happened Thursday night?" The Doctor looked to the Vicar, and Luke remembered when he arrived talking of the boys who broke into the church and his forgivness.

"I'm sorry?" the Vicar said innocently, noticing them watching him.

"You said on the lawn this afternoon. Last Thursday night, those boys broke into your church," the Doctor said, and he nodded.

"That's correct," the Vicar confirmed. "They did. I discovered the two of them, thieves in the night. I was most perturbed. But I apprehended them."

"Really?" the Doctor asked disbelievingly. "A man of God against two strong lads? A man in his forties? Or should I say, forty years old...exactly."

"Oh my God," Lady Eddison gasped, her eyes wide as she stared at him.

"Lady Eddison, your child, how old would he be now?"

"Forty, he's...forty," she breathed.

"You're child has come home." Suddenly, the Vicar laughed.

"This is poppycock!" he said, and the Doctor raised his eyebrows.

"Oh? You said you were taught by the Christian fathers. Meaning, raised in an orphanage."

He had been rumbled. The Firestone was in fact a Vespiform Telepathic Recorder, and when he changed he had not only realised himself, but also got an insant download of the works of Agatha Christie from Lady Eddison, hence his behaviour. The Vicar, the 'man of God' was the classic murderer. Worse than that.

He was a giant alien wasp from another galaxy.

In his rage he transformed in a swirl of purple mist, and the guest ran screaming to the other side of the room, their shrieks and cries unable to drown out the menacing drone of buzzing.

In a flash Agatha had gotten her hands on the Firestone and was running from the room, the creature flying after it, followed by the Doctor, Donna and Luke.

"Where's she going?" Donna shouted as they reached the door, then turned back and halted Luke mid-run. "Stay here or go the the TARDIS!"

"No-"

"Donna!" the Doctor shouted, clambering into the nearby car. "Hurry up!"

"Stay," Donna warned Luke, then let go of his shoulder and hurried off to join the Doctor. Fuming but knowing going after them was pointless, Luke stood and watched the Doctor and Donna drive away, praying that he wasn't watching them go to their deaths. Feeling sick, he turned and went back inside, just in time to say The Unicorn stomping up the stairs as fast as her high heels could carry her.

A reckless want for a chase took him over, and in a split second he had decided to follow her. It was strange how the running and the fighting and death threats reminded him of Sarah-Jane.

He found her in one of the guest bedrooms, stuffing a hastily grabbed pillowcase with whatever she could lay her hands on-statues, jewellery, anything.

"Put those down," Luke said quietly, and she laughed, throwing a handful of rings into the case.

"You off your head?" she asked. "I could get a small fortune for this lot and they won't even miss it."

"It's still wrong."

"Ooh," she said sarcastically, slinging the pillowcase over her shoulder and facing him, her eyes glittering. "What are you going to do? Cry to mummy?"

"My mum's dead," he said, even such a joking mention sending a jolt of pain through him.

"Sorry. But this has nothing to do with you-now get out of my way," she said in a voice laced with icy steel.

"If you put those things back," Luke snapped. "People have been killed, you can't rob Lady Eddison's house after her son's been murdered!"

"Watch me." She pushed him carelessly out of the way so he hit the doorframe, and walked confidently out onto the landing. Luke followed her out, and with one foot on the stair case she glanced back at him with a smirk.

"Oh, give it a rest," she told him as he glowered at her, before turning and moving swiftly down the stairs. If Luke were the Doctor, he would have done something clever with the sonic screwdriver to stop her then said something witty. But he wasn't. Sometimes, the solution was completely obvious, unespectacular but just as risky.

So he ran down the stairs and slammed straight into her, and wrestled the pillowcase from her grasp before flying down the stairs two steps at a time.

"Oi!" she screeched, and he could hear her chasing after him. "That's it, you little rat!"

In a panic, he found himself running into the dining room, the table still laden with the dinner things. Dumping the pillowcase of treasures on one of the chairs, he grabbed the first thing he saw-a large, silver dinner plate-and did the first instinctive action his mind threw forwards as the furious Unicorn entered the room, and hit her around the head with it as hard as he could.

The horrible clanging sound rebounded of the walls, and for a moment she stared at him dopily, before falling backwards onto the floor with a thud.

"...Sorry," he said lamely to her unconcious form. Hearing the commotion, Lady Eddison and the guests hurried in, some gasping at the site of her on sprawled on the floor.

"Um. This is yours," Luke said, passing Lady Eddison the pillowcase, who took it, looking shell-shocked (to be honest he didn't blame her). With them all still staring at him, he gave them a short, awkward little wave. "Bye. I'm, er, going now."

There was complete silence as he left the room, until he heard them speak when he reached the hall.

"There is a giant wasp and the unconcious Unicorn on the floor of our dining room," the Colonel said in a hoarse whisper. "The world's gone mad, Clemency."

* * *

Luke went back to the TARDIS and waited inside for the Doctor and Donna to return. But when they mercifully did, they weren't alone.

"What happened?" Luke asked as the Doctor walked in, carrying a limp Agatha in his arms.

"Well, the Firestone and the wasp was connected to Agatha, and Donna threw the Firestone in the lake. Bam, the waps dives after it, and drowns. Agatha could have died but it let her go, sadly her memory of us an everything that happened is gone, explaining her amnesia," the Doctor explained in one breath, gently laying her down on the floor then looking up at him. "You have a bruise on your forehead."

"Oh," Luke said, rubbing it as he noticed the slight throbbing for the first time. "Miss Redmond-The Unicorn, tried to steal Lady Eddison's things."

"And...?"

"I tried to stop her and she pushed me into the doorframe."

"Right!" Donna said furiously, spinning on her heel and heading for the door. "When I'm finished with her she'll have amnesia and all!"

"No, it's OK, I hit her in the face with a plate and knocked her out," Luke said quickly in the hope of avoiding more violence. The Doctor straightened up and raised his eyebrows at him, and Donna turned back with a frown. "...was that wrong?" he asked anxiously. The Doctor suddenly grinned, and patted him on the back on his way to the console.

"No," he laughed. "No, it's just...never mind."

"What?" Luke asked nervously while the Doctor pressed buttons and pulled levers to fire up the TARDIS and Donna pressed her lips together, shaking with laughter.

"It's just because it's you, that's all," Donna said, grinning. "I can't imagine you in a fight with anyone. Now, Spaceman, where we going?"

"A little hotel in Harrogate, ten days in the future," the Doctor said cheerfully. "To drop off Agatha before she wakes up."

"We've just solved the mystery of Agatha Christie," Luke realised.

"Yep."

"And who'd have thought that it would turn out to be because of a giant alien wasp?" Donna grinned. "I just love this! It's so mental it's brilliant! I'm going to do this forever."

"Well then," the Doctor said, yanking a lever down and starting the engines. "Better get on with it then. Allons-y!"

**A/N** *Up next ***FOREST OF THE DEAD***


	5. Chapter 5 Silence the library

# SILENCE IN THE LIBRARY # **I own no one no one I tells ya**

Used to the TARDIS by now, Luke took his usual position by the console as they travelled and spun uncontrollably through time and space, clinging on desperately but beginning to enjoy even this part of living with the Doctor. They came to a graduall stop, and the Doctor beamed, running accross to the door and snatching up his coat as he went.

"Books!" the Doctor exclaimed joyfully. "People never really stop loving books!"

They followed him out and Luke stared around at the new place, another miraculous, beautiful sight to lock away into his mind forever. The room was enormous, more like a grand, dusty museum than a library except for the books lining shelf after shelf. Sunbeams streamed inside through the high winows, creating pools of gold on the shiny oak floor. The place was eerily beautiful, completely empty apart from the books and the odd piece of furniture. But it was still full to bursting point with an abundance of stories and lives kept safe printed on thousands of pages pressed and bound protectively by leather covers.

"Fifty-first century," the Doctor said proudly, marching accross the room. "By now you've got holovids, direct-to-brain downloads, fiction-mist, but you need the _smell_," he said passionately. "The smell of books, Donna, Luke. Deep breaths."

They passed through a door and out into a new area full of white pillars and bathed in a sunset orange glow, advancing towards a large balcony that looked out at towering spires and levels of paths that twisted and turned through the sky above and below them as far as the eye could see.

"The Library," the Doctor said majestically. "So big it doesn't need a name. Just a great big 'the'."

"It's like a city," Donna gasped, staring out as Luke was. It was amazing, but something dark prodded at the back of Luke's mind for attention, currently held back and happily ignored by awe.

"It's a world," the Doctor told them. "Literally, a world. The whole core of the planet is the index computer, biggest hard drive ever. And up here, every book ever written."

"Every book?" Luke asked in shock as they headed down some steps. "Really?"

"Yep. Bet you're in your element," the Doctor said. "Whole continents of Jeffrey Archer, Bridget Jones, Monty Python's Big Red Book. Brand-new editions, especially printed. You'll be in here somewhere, Luke."

"What?" Luke asked as Donna gawped at him. "What do I write?"

"Can't tell you incase I unravel the Universe. Sorry," the Doctor said, grinning. "Mind you, your name would be impossible to find anyway. Half this planet's probably dominated by Smiths."

"Where are we now?" Luke asked eagerly. "How are the books catagorised?"

"By subject. We're near the equator, so..." the Doctor held up a finger then shouted out in excitement so loudly that Donna jumped about a foot and Luke accidently knocked over a pile of books that had been balancing peacefully on the edge of the balcony. "This must be BIOGRAPHIES! I love biographies."

"Yeah, very you," Donna said dryly. "Always a death at the end."

"You need a good death," the Doctor protested keenly. "Without death there's only be comedies. Dying gives us size." Seemingly bored by the Doctor's speech, Donna casually picked up a book only to have it snatched from her hand by the Doctor.

"Whay!" he said, holding it out of her reach. "Spoilers."

"What?"

"These books are from your future," he explained. "You don't wanna read ahead, spoil all the surprises. It's like peeking at the end."

"Isn't travelling with you one big spoiler?" Donna asked, but Luke was barely listening. A horrible chill had been creeping up on him, and he'd realised why. A whole planet...

"I try to keep you away from major plot developments," the Doctor told Donna, then glanced at Luke and frowned. "Luke?"

"This is a whole planet," Luke said slowly. "You said it was a planet. This area's like a city."

"...Right," the Doctor breathed, and Luke could see the grim understanding on his face. "Oh."

"_What_?" Donna asked peevishly. "Have you just noticed there's no DVD section or something?"

"They're a travesty," the Doctor said, turning to her then looking back out. "No. This is the biggest library in the universe. So where is everyone?"

Hearing the Doctor say it aloud suddenly gave The Library a whole different feeling. It was no longer peaceful, but frightening. Like when you get up in the middle of the night and walk through your empty house for a glass of water in the dark, a place so familiar and usually so harmless seeming terrifying. As though impossible monsters are waiting in the dark.

"It's silent," the Doctor whispered.

"It's a library," Donna said as though it were obvious, but the Doctor rushed off the a nearby computer screen, pulling out his sonic screwdriver, which was never a good sign. The screen light up with green words and figures.

"The planet," the Doctor said. "The whole planet..."

"Maybe it's a Sunday," Donna suggested, but the Doctor shook his head with certainty.

"No, I never land on Sundays. Sundays are boring."

"Well. Maybe everyone's really, really _quiet_," Donna said.

"Quiet as the grave," Luke said, a phrase he'd heard being used a lot. It seemed to fit the situation.

"Maybe," the Doctor said. "But they'd still show up on the system."

"Doctor, why ae we here?" Donna asked suddenly. "Really, why?"

"Oh, you know," the Doctor said, his eyes still glued to the screen. "Just passing."

"No, seriously. It was all 'let's hit the beach' then suddenly we're in a library," Donna pressed. "Why?"

"Now that's interesting," the Doctor said, ignoring Donna as the screen bleeped to alert him to information.

"What?" Donna asked nervously."

"Scanning for life forms. If I do a scan searching for your basic humanoids-you know, your book readers, few limbs and a face, apart from us, I get nothing," he explained, pointing to the red number three on the screen. "Zippo. Nada. See, nobody home. But if I widen the parameters to any kind of life..." he tapped a few buttons and the screen flooded with numbers that froze as the screen flashed with a warning that the lifeform number had exceeded the amount recognised. "A million million. Gives up after that. A million million..." They all looked out at the silent stretch of empty space and buildings.

"...but there's nothing here," Donna said quietly. "There's no one."

"And not a sound," the Doctor said. "A million million life forms and silence in the library."

"But there's no one here. There's just books," Donna said, then began to visibly panic. "I mean, it's not the books, is it?" The Doctor didn't reply. "I mean it can't be the books, can it? I mean, the books can't be alive." They all exchanged a glance, and unanimously reached for the nearby pile of books...

"_Welcome_!"

All three of them leapt into the air at the electronic voice, then stared at what was clearly just a stack of ordinary books, feeling foolish.

"That came from there," Donna said quickly, jerking a finger in the direction of the voice.

"Yeah," the Doctor said, and they hurried off as though fleeing from the shame of being afraid of some paper and ink.

They found themselves in a shadowy room, and a tall white statue in the centre began to click as the top rotated slowly until an ordinary female human face looked out at them with a smile.

"_I am Courtesy Node 710/Aqua_," the statue said as they walked over. "_Please enjoy The Library and respect_ _the personal access codes of all your fellow readers, regardless of species or hygiene taboo._"

"That face, it looks real," Donna said, staring at it. Luke glanced at the Doctor.

"Yeah, don't worry about it," the Doctor said lightly, and Luke's anxiety shot up.

"Why not?" he asked.

"A statue with a real face, though?" Donna asked. "...It's a hologram or something, isn't it?"

"No, but really. It's fine," the Doctor said darkly, and the statue spoke again before Donna could ask any other questions.

"_Additional. There follows a brief message from the head librarian for your urgent attention. It has been edited for tone and content by a Felman Lux Automated Decency Filter. Message follows. Run. For God's sake, run," _it said in exactly the same tone. "_Nowhere is safe. The Library has sealed itself. We can't...oh, they're here. Arg. Slarg. Snick. Message ends."_

Donna slowly reached out and grabbed Luke's arm, pulling him closer. They had just heard someone's last moments, terrible with or without a decency filter.

"_Please switch off your mobile comm-units for the comfort of other readers,_" the statue said, smiling as they stared at it, aghast.

"So that's why we're here," the Doctor said softly, but as they both looked at him he raised his voice and addressed the statue. "Any other messages? Same date stamp?"

"_One additional message. This message carries a Felman Lux Coherency Warning of-"_

"Yeah, yeah, fine, fine!" the Doctor interrupted impatiently. "Just play it."

"_Message follows. Count the shadows. For God's sake, remember, if you want to live, count the shadows. Message ends."_

Luke, as well as being scared, was confused. Count the shadows? Something had to cast a shadow, but why not look out for that instead? A shadow couldn't be dangerous on it's own. And why count them?

"...Luke...Donna," the Doctor said, looking around at the shadows surrounding them.

"Yeah," Donna replied, her grip on Luke's arm tightening.

"Stay out of the shadows."

"Why? What's in the shadows?" she asked, but he didn't reply, hurrying instead accross the room and side stepping any patches of blackness. Donna and Luke ran after him, straight past the TARDIS and into the danger of another part of the now ominous, threatening library.

They were in a long corridor, surrounded by books and lit by orange lamp light.

"So," Donna said to the Doctor accusingly. "We weren't just in the neighbourhood."

"Yeah. I kind if, sort of...lied a bit. I got a message on the psychic paper," he said, holding it up to show the message-_'The Library, come as soon as you can x'_. "What do you think? Cry for help?"

"Cry for help...with a kiss?" Donna asked mockingly, and he sniffed.

"We've all done that."

"Who's it from?"

"No idea."

"So why did we come here? Why did you-"

"Donna," the Doctor interrupted, as there was the sound of light bulb failing and blinking into darkness. They turned to see the corridor behind them getting steadily darker, the lights going off in stages. Getting closer.

"Shadows," Luke said in fear.

"RUN!"

They ran, as usual, but ended up slamming straight into a door that wouldn't open.

"What?" Donna asked, panicked. "Is it locked?"

"Jammed!" the Doctor growled, hitting it. "The wood's warped!"

"Sonic it! USE THE THINGY!"

"I can't, it's wood," the Doctor hissed, heaving against the door desperately.

"What, it doesn't do WOOD?" she shouted in exasperation, the lights still zapping into darkness beind them.

"Doctor, it's getting closer," Luke panicked, backing away further. "Do something!"

"Hang on, hang on! I can vibrate the molecules, fry the bindings, I can shatterline the-"

"Oh, get out of the way!" Donna snapped, and he rushed sideways obediantly. Donna stood in front of the door, took a step back then planted a hard kick against the wood. The door burst open and they rushed through, slamming it shut behind them.

"What's that?" Luke asked anxiously, staring at the bronze sphere floating in the middle of the room. The other two turned from jamming a book in the handles of the double doors.

"Oh! Hello," the Doctor said happily, approaching it without fear. "Sorry to burst in on you like this. OK if we stop here for a bit?" The sphere seemed to deactivate and gave up of floating, dropping heavily to the ground like a stone.

"What is it?" Donna asked, echoing Luke's earlier question. They approached it, Luke looking around as he did so, remembering to keep an eye out for shadows.

"A security camera," the Doctor replied, nudging it with his foot like a football. "Switched itself off." He picked it up and the sonic screwdriver began to buzz loudly as he moved it over it. "Nice door skills, Donna," he commented lightly as the blye light flashed.

"Yeah, well, you know," she replied modestly. "Boyfriends. Sometimes you need to element of surprise."

"Why?" Luke asked curiously, looking up from where he had been watching a shadow carefully to see if there could possibly be anything sinister about it.

"If you think you're going to find him with another little b-"

"Ah!" the Doctor said sharply, holding up a hand and tsking at Donna. "Don't ruin his innocence, Donna!" Donna rolled her eyes, then her smirk wavered as a glimmer of fear returned to her eyes.

"What was that, though?" she asked nervously. "What was after us? I mean, did we just run away from a power cut?"

"Possibly," the Doctor said, but Luke could tell from his serious tone that he didn't think so. Donna looked up at the domed glass window high above them, natural sunlight creating a patch for them to stand in.

"Are we safe here?" she asked. The Doctor looked up at her.

"Course we're safe. There's a little shop," he said, and Donna and Luke turned to look at the sign on the wall labelling an area simply 'The Shop'.

"How does that make us safe?" Luke asked worriedly, but the Doctor didn't reply, crying out triumphantly as the security camera made a clicking sound.

"Gotcha!" He looked momentarily thrilled, before red words began to slide accross a small screen on it, the words 'NO STOP IT STOP IT'. The Doctor frowned and carefully but quickly placed it back down on the floor. "Oh, I'm sorry. I really am. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." He stood up and stepped back. "It's alive."

"You said it was a security camera!" Donna said in annoyance.

"It is," the Doctor said, looking baffled even for him. Then he seemed to shrug it off, placing his screwdriver back in his pocket. "It's an alive one." Luke, instead of asking questions that wouldn't be answered, ran over to the security camera and inspected it.

"'Others are coming'," he read from the screen.

"Just...come here," Donna said, pulling him away and then glancing at the stony faced Doctor. "What's it mean, 'others'?" When she got no answer, she marched over determinedly to another of the talking statues. "Excuse me, what does it mean, 'others'?"

"That's barely more than a speak your weight machine, it can't help you," the Doctor said as the face turned on the stone to face Donna.

"So why's it got a face?" Donna asked, as if that destroyed his logic.

"_This flesh aspect was donated by Mark Chambers on the occasion of his death," _The statue said in answer to her question. Donna's expression became horrified, and the Doctor awkward as she whriled to face him.

"It's a REAL FACE?" she asked, but again it was the statue that ansered.

"_It has been actualised individually for you from the many facial aspects saved to our extensive flesh banks. Please enjoy."_

Donna didn't look like she was enjoying it very much. "It chose me a dead face it thought I'd like? That statue's got a real dead person's face on it!"

"It's the fifty-first century," the Doctor said calmly. "That's basically like donating a park bench."

"...Except a park bench is made of wood," Luke said, unable to look away for the serene, smiling face of a dead man, disgusted. "That's a face."

"Loads of people do it, it's a way to be remembered," the Doctor said. "Like a gravestone, except this way it's actually some use-"

"It's a FACE!" Donna panicked, stumbling backwards, but the Doctor grabbed her quickly.

"No! Wait!" he yelled, pulling her back. "No!"

"HANDS!" she cried, slapping him away.

"Shadow, look," the Doctor said simply, and they all looked at the large, triangular shaped shadow stretching out towards the centre of the room inches from where Donna was standing and about to walk to.

"...What about it?"

"Count the shadows," he said gravely, looking up and around them in a way that unsettled Luke.

"One. There, I've counted it," Donna said shakily. "One shadow."

"Yeah," the Doctor said with the air of someone about to deliver bad news, "but what's casting it?"

"If nothing's casting it," Luke said slowly. "Then how can it exist? A shadow can't exist on its own."

"No, a shadow can't," the Doctor said grimly, walking over and looking down a nearby corridor where the ligt bulb was struggling to stay lit.

"Power must be going," Donna said.

"This place runs on fission cells. They'll outburn the sun," he disagreed.

"...Then why's it dark?" she asked, terror creeping up on them.

"It's not dark," he answered chillingly, and Donna suddenly reached out and touched his arm.

"That shadow," she said with a tremor. "It's gone."

"We need to get back to the TARDIS," the Doctor decided seriously, grabbed them both and pulling them away slightly.

"Why?" Donna asked, still staring at the place the shadow had been.

"Because that shadow hasn't gone, it's moved," the Doctor said.

"How can a shadow move?" Luke asked, until something dawned on him. "Unless it's not a shadow."

"_Reminder,_" the statue said. "_The Library has been breached. Others are coming. Reminder. The Library has been breached. Others are coming._" They looked at each other, then leapt back as a door burst open nearby by force. Figures in white space suits with blackened glass to look out of approached them. Many of them stopped, but one walked right up to the Doctor before they stood straight in front of him. The person pressed a button on the back of the helmet with a white, glove padded hand and the black tint vanished from the glass to reveal the widely smiling face of a woman.

"Hello, sweetie," she said in a low, flirty voice. Luke was taken aback and looked to Donna, but she looked as bemused as he did. The Doctor's face remained cold.

"Get out," he said rudely.

"Doctor..." Donna protested, but he ignored her, stomping over to the other space-suit clad figures and thrusting out his hand to point in the direction they had come.

"All of you, turn around, get back in your rocket and fly away! Tell your grandchildren you came to The Library and lived. They won't believe you." Instead of the frightened fleeing that the Doctor had clearly been expecting, the woman smiled.

"Pop your helmets everyone," she said. "We've got breathers."

"How do you know they're not androids?" a second figure said in a female, American voice.

"Because I've dated androids," the woman said, pulling off her own helmet and shaking out her tightly curled hair and looking over the Doctor with a sparkle in her eye. "They're rubbish."

"Who is this?" a man asked furiously, shooting an accusing look at them. "You said we were the only expedition! I paid for exclusives! And what, we find people here on a family holiday!"

"I lied, I'm always lying," the woman admitted without a care. "Bound to be others." The man's nostrils flared.

"Miss Evangelista, I want to see the contracts," he said tightly to a young, pretty brunette standing nearby who nodded quickly as though startled and began rumaging through a bag. The woman turned to face the Doctor again.

"You came through the north door?" she asked. "How was that? Much damage?"

"Please just leave," he said without answering. "I'm askering you seriously an properly."

"She's right though," Luke said, and the Doctor glowered at him while the woman smiled warmly. "That is how we got through."

"See? Listen to Luke. I know you can't stand that he's brainier than you, but still," she said, smirking. Luke blinked at her.

"What?"

"Just leave!" the Doctor continued, appearing to have phased out the woman and her impossible use of Luke's name. "I mean it, just...Hang on," he said, an awful though seeming to have struck him. "Did you say expedition?" He looked around at them all, wrinkling his nose.

"My expedition," the stroppy man said. "I funded it."

"Oh, you're not are you?" the Doctor groaned. "Tell me you're not archaeologists."

"Got a problem with archaeologists?" the woman asked challengingly, but playfully more than coldly.

"I'm a time traveller. I point and laugh at archaeologists," he said smugly.

"Ah," she said, grinning and extending a hand. "Professor River Song. Archaeologist," she said, stressing the last word. The Doctor grabbed her hand and shook it softly.

"River Song, lovely name. As you're leaving, and you're leaving now," he said, ussuring them away. "You need to set up a quarantine beacon, code-wall the planet. The whole planet! Nobody comes here, not ever again! Not one living thing! Not here, not ever! STOP RIGHT THERE!" he roared, rushing over to the American woman approaching a darkened area of the room curiously. "What's your name?"

"Anita," she said indignantly as he tugged her away.

"Anita," he repeated urgently. "Stay out of the shadows. Not a foot, not a finger in the shadows, till you're safely back in your skip. Goes for all of you, stay in the light! Find a nice bright spot, and just stand! If you understand me look very, very scared." There was a silence as he looked around. The stroppy expedition leader looked angry, Miss Evangelista looked puzzled but as though she were trying to look scared to be polite, River Song looked amused, and everyone else looked totally confused. "No," the Doctor said. "A bit more scared than that." Miss Evagelista doubled her efforts until her eyes were wide and mouth pouting so she looked a lot like a startled puffer fish. "Ok, do for now."

* * *

There was no way back where the new people had come through, the whole corridor leading back to their ship pitch black and deadly. After ripping up a few contracts and giving a speech about how the whole world had been killed by something, they all began looking around. The Doctor relented to allow the archaeologists to do their work within his eyesight, and began shining a torch into the shadows.

"Almost every species in the universe has an irrational fear of the dark," he said in a low voice to Donna and Luke. "But they're wrong. Because it's not irrational. It's Vashta Nerada."

"...What's Vashta Nerada?" Donna asked.

"It's what's in the dark," he answered vaguely. "It's what's always in the dark. Lights!" he said suddenly, chucking the torch to the expedition leader who had revealed himself as Mr Lux, his family having built the library. He caught it clumsily. "That's what we need, lights! You got lights?"

"What for?" River Song asked, the two men beside her (Dave and 'Other Dave') looked confused.

"Form a circle, safe area, big as you can, lights pointing out," he commanded. River Song instructed them to obey, then gave them all tasks to perform.

"Pretty boy," she said to the Doctor after giving the commands in one breath to the others, "you're with me. Step into my office."

The Doctor went to help Dave with the computer, and Donna raised an eyebrow at Luke, amused.

"Pretty boy! With me, I said!" River Song called. Donna leant forwards and stared at the Doctor, who looked baffled until realisation hit.

"Oh!" he said, pointing at himself. "I'm pretty boy!"

"Yes!" Donna said, then frowned. "Oh. That came out a bit quick."

"Pretty?" the Doctor said, and she tiled her head.

"Meh."

The Doctor went off to aid River Song, and Luke observed what the others were doing before looking at the screen Dave was working on.

"I've got this," Dave said, glancing over his shoulder at him. "This system's a bit too advanced for a kid, you just run along." Luke bristled, but moved away. He was brushed off by everyone else, even though he could probably do their jobs ten times as fast. He caught sight of the pretty Mis Evangelista shyly approaching Anita.

"Excuse me," she said politely. "Can I help?" Anita exchanged a glance with Other Dave.

"No, we're fine," she said firmly.

"I could just, you know, hold things-"

"No, really. We're OK."

"Oh. OK." Childlike, Miss Evangelista looked slightly sad before she hurried up to Lux like an eager puppy, only to be shooed away by him as well. Luke saw Donna go over to Anita with a disapproving expression, presumably to fight Miss Evangelista's corner, so he decided to talk to her himself.

"I'm Luke," he said kindly, and she smiled. "The others won't let me help either. Because they think I'm just a kid."

"I'm Evangelista," she said.

"That's a really nice name."

"Thank you," she beamed, then her smile faltered and vanished. "They think I'm stupid because I'm pretty."

"That doesn't make any sense," Luke said. "What do looks have to do with your brain?" Luke caught sight of Donna staring suspiciously at River Song and the Doctor as River put a hand on his face, seeming strangely confident and loving with him.

"You're younger than I've ever seen you," she said in a whisper that Luke and Donna could just hear if they focused.

"...You've...seen me before then?" the Doctor said, and her face collapsed from smiling to a devastated expression.

"Doctor," she said, almost tearfully. "Please tell me you know who I am."

"...Who are you?" he asked, and she sat back, her eyes full of tears and her mouth parted in shock. It wasn't hard for Luke to puzzle out what was happening. He was a time traveller, and hadn't met her yet. But clearly he meant a lot to her, and Luke may not have known many things, but he knew love when he saw it, and he saw it in River Song. He couldn't imagine how much it would hurt her not to see the Doctor show it back.

A sound like an alarm began to ring out through the library, and Dave apologised, explaining how he must have set it off trying to get into the security protocols. But even then...

"Doctor," Donna said slowly as he stood up and walked away from the devasted but still determined and dry-eyed River Song. "Doctor, that sounds like..."

"Yeah, it is," he said, stunned. "It's a phone."

They went over to the computer, and the Doctor pressed a few buttons and suddenly the image of little girl in her living room popped up on screen. She looked up from her colouring, mouth open.

"Hello," the Doctor said.

"Hello," she said back, confused. "Are you in my television?"

"Well, no, I'm...I'm sort of in space. Um, I was trying to call up the data core of a Triple-Grid Security Processor."

"Would you like to speak to my dad?" the girl said, still looking bemused but nowhere near as scared as she should be that a strange man was talking to her out of a TV, claiming to be in space. There was something weird about this whole thing, Luke thought.

"Your dad or your mum, that would be lovely," the Doctor said. The girl looked thoughtful, then her eyes lit up.

"I know you!" she exclaimed. "You were in my library!"

"Your library?"

"The Library's never been on television before," the girl said, looking upset. "What have you done?"

"Ah, well, um," the Doctor stammered, looking down at the keyboard. "I just...re-rooted the interface-" In a flash, the screen blinked off, and the Doctor held up his hands in annoyance.

"What happened?" River asked, concerned. "Who was that?" The Doctor didn't reply and kept jabbing at the buttons, but the girl wouldn't return so instead he rushed off again.

"Keep working on those lights!" was his parting yell. "I need those lights!"

As they worked, without warning, books spontaneously began to fly off the shelves. One hit Luke over the top of the head, and he backed away into the centre of the room.

"What is it?" he asked, but the Doctor seemed to have no idea. Miss Evangelista was squealing and twitching as the books flew past her, and even when it had finally stopped she began flapping her arms around.

"You all right?" Donna asked kindly, going over to her. Luke followed after her, watching as Donna's face softened as she took the scared girl's hand.

"What's that?" she asked, sounding in near hysterics. "What's happening?"

"We don't know," Dave grunted, and that was all anyone bothered to say. Donna's heart clearly went out to her.

"Oh, thanks for, you know, offering to help with the lights," she said, and Evangelista nodded, but looked sad.

"They don't want me," she said, then looked at Luke. "They think I'm stupid."

"Of course they don't," Donna said. "Nobody thinks that!"

"No, they're right, though," she said sadly. "I'm a moron me. My dad said I had the IQ of plankton and I was pleased." Luke was thinking of what a horrible thing that was of her dad to say, when Donna laughed.

"See?" she said. "That's funny!"

"No...No, I really was pleased," Evangelista said, frowning. "Is...that funny?"

"No. No," Donna said pityingly. Luke wondered about the horrible people in and the complexity of the world he lived in. If you were smart, they made fun of you. If you were stupid, they made fun of you. He supposed everyone was supposed to be perfectly average.

The books began flying again, and soon the Doctor began an urgent meeting to discuss something he had found 'CAL'. While he argued with the stubborn headed Lux and River explained what happened in The Library when it sealed one hundred years ago, Luke realised Evangelista had left his side. Looking, he saw he standing by an open door he was certain hadn't been there a moment ago.

"Um...excuse me," she began hesitantly, but Lux harshly cut her off.

"Not just now."

Luke kept watching her as she approached the door further, and slowly walked away from behind Donna and the Doctor while they were busy.

"Um, this might be important, actually," Evangelista said, but again they pushed her away.

"In a moment!"

She began heading into the new room by herself...into the dark. Making a quick decision Luke followed her, keeping a few paces behind her. He grabbed a torch from a desk as he went, shining it into the blackness. A horrible, icy chill ran up his spine, and when he heard the shrill, short scream it was as though someone had tipped a bucket of ice cold water over his head. Dropping the torch he ran to the source of the sound, his own safety at the back of his mind now.

He stopped dead at the sight of the skeleton, slumped in the chair in the middle of a large room filled with desks and books. He heard pounding footsteps, and the others poured in.

"Are you OK?" Donna asked Luke, then followed his gaze to the body. "Oh my God!"

"I heard her scream," Luke said in terror. "I heard her, Miss Evangelista, she screamed..." His voice rose, and River turned to him.

"It's OK," she said calmly and kindly, and the Doctor gave her a sideways glance. "What happened?"

"She tried to tell you," Luke said hatefully. "All of you."

"She could be fine," Lux said. "It's only a skeleton, get a hold of yourselves."

"But that skeleton...it shouldn't be so clean," Luke said shakily, looking at the Doctor. "Should it? What's Vashta Nerada? You said Vashta Nerada earlier, what does it do?"

"Well?" River asked, but he stayed silent. Tears prickled in Luke's eyes, and Donna rubbed his shoulder.

"Hey, it's OK," she said, but he shook his head.

"Don't you understand?"

"What?" Donna asked worriedly, but he couldn't bring himself to continue. River Song, meanwhile, pressed a button on the edge of her suit.

"Miss Evangelista," she said into what was blatantly a communicator, "Please state your current-" She stopped as her voice was doubled and echoed around the room. "Please state your current..." The Doctor turned his torch of the skeleton pointedly, and River reached out an pulled up the intact edge of a spacesuit from around the skeleton's neck, a green bar of light still glowing. "Position," she finished in a horrified whisper.

* * *

The Doctor pulled Luke away from what remained of Evangelista and into the room they were in before when she began to ghost. It was too much, and it could all too easily have been him. It was too dangerous-he wasn't going to lose him. Not her son, not Sarah-Jane's.

When the others, including a traumatised Donna, returned, he looked over to the shop. River saw him looking, and while Luke and Donna shared a hug a few metres away, she came up to him.

"You're going to teleport him out," she guessed, and followed him as he walked over to what he had already guessed would be in the shop as one of the only exits-a teleport system. "It's the right decision. What Sarah-Jane would have wanted."

"Sarah...who are you?" he demanded to know, snapping. "How do you know me?"

"Spoilers."

"This isn't a game," he snarled, going nose to nose with her. "People have died!"

"Better get him out of here, then," she advised coolly, and he kept his fiery glare before stepping back and waving Luke over, Donna sticking with him. River gave him an infuriating, knowing look before walking off to join her team.

"Stand over there," the Doctor told Luke, pointing to a nearby platform. Luke took one look at it, then walked in the other direction.

"That's a teleport," he stated accusingly, and the Doctor sighed.

"Yes," he said. "I'm sending you back to the TARDIS. It's getting too dangerous. You too, Donna."

"No!" she snapped. "No way, I'm staying with you!"

"I'm not going either," Luke said stubbornly, and Donna's fierce determination melted away into worry.

"No, you have to go," she said, and he glared at her.

"If you're staying, why can't I? I can look after myself. I can. Please, I want to help."

"I..." Donna trailed off as he eyes met the Doctor's, and she sighed. "I'll go with you."

"But I saw what happened to her!" Luke cried, almost in tears. "Miss Evangelista, there was nothing left. What if you die?" he asked the Doctor, who looked sympathetic but unchanged in his opinion. "What then?"

"If I don't return to the TARDIS after a certain amount of time Emergency Program One will activate and take you home-"

"That's not what I meant," Luke said, looking at him pleadingly. "I can't lose anyone else."

"Neither can I." The both stared at each other in silence for a few moments, then the Doctor switched to look at Donna, his finger hovering over a button. "The teleport carries more than one," he said simply, and before Luke had time to react properly Donna had grabbed him around the waste and pulled him onto the platform.

"NO!" he shouted, struggling but unable to get free as The Library disappeared before his eyes. It was like blinking-one second he saw The Library and in no time at all he was looking around at the golden walls and spiralling structures of the familiar, humming TARDIS. He just had time to face Donna and open his mouth, when he felt a force tugging him back. To his horror, he saw Donna scream, her head thrown back as her body flickered like a bad hologram before vanishing. Pain ripped through his old body and it felt as though he was dissolving, every inch of him on fire as each cell was torn apart...

The TARDIS ceased to be, and everything else did too, going completely black.

* * *

He was so confused. That was all he knew he groggily came to his senses. Who was he? Where was he? He searched his mind, but he didn't know. For some reason that bothered him, until that worry that jumped up simply slipped away into a peaceful calm. Cautiously, he opened his eyes and sat up, feeling something soft and springy under his fingers as he pushed himself upright. A mattress?

Looking around, he saw an ordinary boy's bedroom, that was so familiar but so new at the same time. Looking down he saw the blue duvet fall off him as he hauled himself even further upright, his eyes widening in shock.

...Where was he?

**A/N : Forest of the dead is next**'


	6. Chapter 6 The life he wanted

#Forest of the Dead# *previously*

He was so confused. That was all he knew he groggily came to his senses. Who was he? Where was he? He searched his mind, but he didn't know. For some reason that bothered him, until that worry that jumped up simply slipped away into a peaceful calm. Cautiously, he opened his eyes and sat up, feeling something soft and springy under his fingers as he pushed himself upright. A mattress?

Looking around, he saw an ordinary boy's bedroom, that was so familiar but so new at the same time. Looking down he saw the blue duvet fall off him as he hauled himself even further upright, his eyes widening in shock.

...Where was he?

**Disclaimer:I own Luke's new parents**

Luke felt strangely baffled, although he had no idea why. Even as he looked around, there was nothing sinister or threatening. But it was wrong...there was something wrong with his memories, how he was thinking. He couldn't quite put his finger on it.

The walls were painted bright blue, and there was a dresser against one wall with a matching oak wardrobe standing in the corner. A night stand next to his bed held a digital clock with a softly glowing screen and a nearly empty glass of water that for a second Luke could remember drinking, then suddenly did. The room was nice, but not personal.

A worried feeling was growing inside him. A voice at the back of his mind screamed at him from the realms of the subconscious, alerting him that something was amiss. The feeling came in waves, flaring so that his heart rate increased and panic exploded, then simply melting away as though it had never been there. Luke was focusing, keeping a hold of and trying to figure out the feeling, when the door opened and two people entered.

Both the woman and man had dark brown hair, the woman's pulled back in a low, long ponytail, a few tendrils of her hair escaping and framing her smooth, unblemished face. She wore a dark pink blouse, perfectly pressed tan trousers and a string of glistening pearls around her neck. The man was smartly dressed in a suit and tie, and had a hankerchief folded in his pocket. Luke blinked at them, stunned, while they smiled at him widely as if he was the best thing they had ever seen in their entire lives.

"How are you feeling, buddy?" the man said cheerfully, speaking first. His smile never faltered, and he wrapped an arm around the woman's waist and pulled her closer. She rested her head on his shoulder, laughing before turning her attention back to Luke.

"Um..." Luke didn't mean to be rude, but didn't really know what to do in this kind of situation. "Who are you?"

"Surely you know your parents?" the woman said, rushing over and sitting on his bed, fussing with the covers. He could smell her sweet, flowery perfume-nice, but not familiar. Luke just stared at her blankly, and she got up, pacing and looking upset. The man placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Doctor Moon warned us this would happen," he reminded her, and they both turned to Luke. He shrank back a bit against there gaze.

"Who?" he asked, but neither of them answered. The door behind them opened and a dark skinned man with glasses entered the room, and air of professionalism about him but also stangely approachable.

"I'm glad you're awake, Luke," he said in a level voice, smiling. "I'm sure your mum and dad are too." The woman-his mum?-turned to the man.

"He doesn't remember us," she said, sounding distressed. The man nodded and turned to Luke, smiling.

"I am Doctor Moon, and these are you parents, Annabeth and Peter Dawson. You forgot, didn't you?"

"But I can't forget..." Luke trailed off, frowning as Doctor Moon continued to smile knowingly, as if he had a secret. "But I did."

"Yes," he confirmed. "And then, you remembered."

Luke did remember. A whole new stack of memories were suddenly in his mind-but the old ones were still there, Buried, faint, but if he tried he could access them. But something in him didn't want to...the memories were sad and frightening. Even the good ones seemed to have gone bad.

"Can he come home now?" Annabeth asked. Luke frowned.

"Where am I now?" he asked.

"The hospital. Where everybody goes when they first arrive."

"Why? What do you mean arrive?"

"It doesn't matter. Because you are ready to go home. And then, you'll forget."

Suddenly, he was standing in the middle of a living room. The walls were cream with a chocolate brown skirting board, and the sofas beige with plush striped cushions. A rug in the centre of the floor was fluffy and white, and a large TV stood against one wall and a white electric fireplace against the other. Pictures were proudly presented in a row on the mantel above it, and he wandered over and picked one up, studying it. It was a picture of him at around age four.

_Wrong._

Almost the instant the voice at the back of his mind spoke up and the feeling of unease washed over him, he felt a hand on his shoulder and allowed it to vanish as he looked around at the face of Annabeth, his mother.

"You were such a good boy," she said affectionately, sliding the photograph from his hands. "Your first day of reception."

And Luke remembered it. It had been a bright, sunny Tuesday, and he and his parents had been excited. They took loads of pictures, and Peter had even taken the morning off work. Yet something about the memory was wrong...forced, clinical. There were no emotions with it...

_Because it wasn't real._

Ignoring the voice, what he knew, he pushed the thoughts deep down inside him. Still, anxiety began to swell inside him like a bubble growing bigger and bigger...

"Are you hungry?" Annabeth asked, bursting it with a wide smile. Realising he was starving, he nodded. "Watch telly for a bit then. OK?"

Then he was watching TV, halfway through a TV programme with no memories of turning it on or watching the first half, until the memories flooded back, as though delayed. By a slow computer. But instead of replacing his lack of memories, his thoughts and new thoughts and real memories and old memories mingled into one big, confusing mess. Feeling as though he were going insane, he flipped through the channels, wishing he could know what was going on, what was wrong. Exasperated, he switched the TV set off and threw the remote down onto the sofa, only for the black screen to blink back into life again, showing an image of the little, brown haired girl from before. She seemed just as surprised as he did (Luke nearly fell off the sofa).

"It's you," the girl said with interest. "From my Library."

"Library?" he asked, confused, then felt his skin grow cold as a series of faint images flickered in his mind. Darkness, an empty world, a skeleton.

"Oh, of course," the little girl said, smiling widely at him. "You've forgot. But that's good."

"It is?" Luke asked, desperate for some information that didn't suggest he was going mad.

"Yes. You're happy and safe, because you've forgotten. You can't remember." The girl's smile faded. "Your data is weird."

"What?"

But then the girl herself seemed to forget what she'd said, looking puzzled as she stared out of the screen at him.

"How are you in my TV?" she asked, but then Annabeth came into the living room and the screen flickered away into black.

"Luke?" Annabeth said. "Doctor Moon is here to see you." The man entered behind her, and Luke found himself oddly on guard as Annabeth-he realised he had been calling her that in his head instead of 'mum', it didn't fit her somehow-left, and Doctor Moon sat down in an armchair.

"How are you?" he asked.

"You only saw me fifty-eight minutes ago," Luke replied instantly, then frowned. "I think."

"No. I saw you two days ago," he said smoothly. "Don't you remember?"

"I...must have forgotten," Luke lied, knowing that wasn't true.

_You don't forget._

There were too many memories. It was wrong. Some were forbidden and faint, but they were still there, fighting to get through. Everything was wrong.

"You did," Doctor Moon smiled. "Then, you remembered." As he said, Luke did remember. But he still didn't forget forgetting.

* * *

A few days later, Luke was about to head off to school as he had supposedly been doing for years, when an envelope slipped through the letter box as he reached the front door and fell onto the carpet. Curious, he reached down and picked it up. Slanting, black-inked letters on the back stated that it was addressed to him.

"You're going to be late," Annabeth warned, poking her head of the kitchen, drying her hands on a tea-towel. Perhaps she thought she was being to pushy, because she slapped her hands against her legs and grinned at him. "Tell you what, I'll make cookies tonight. OK, sweetie?"

"...Sweetie?" For some reason, that word snapped into place the image of a cheeky woman with bouncy curls.

"Sorry, you're my tough boy then, are you?" she laughed, ruffling his hair and planting a kiss on his forehead. He hid the envelope behind his back swiftly. "Now bye, or you'll be late!"

"By Annabe...mum." That word still sounded wrong. That word belonged to someone else.

Once he was safely outside and on his way down the road, he slit open the envelope and tugged out the white paper with only a few words on it in the same handwriting.

_Meet me at the playpark._

He turned the paper over, checking for a signature or something, but there was nothing else. There was only one playpark in the area. It was probably a risky thing to do to meet whoever this mysterious person was, but his interest was peeked...

Suddenly, he found himself sitting on a swing, and on the one beside him was the figure of a woman clad entirely in black with a lace veil covering her face.

"You got my note," she said simply, in a strangely familiar voice. "I'm glad."

"Who are you?"

"We've met before," she replied. "You complimented me on my name."

"Why did..." Luke trailed off as he realised where he knew her from. He brought to swing to an abrupt stop from where it had been moving slightly. "Miss Evangelista?"

"Yes."

"But...no, you died. I saw you, you were a skeleton," Luke said, the image flickering behind his eyes like a bad film. Then a horrifying thought struck him. "Am I dead?"

"I don't think so," she said. "I'll explain more when she has arrived."

"Who?" he asked, and the veiled face turned. Following her gaze, he saw a red-headed woman clutching the hands of her young children approaching, before she let them go and they rushed off to play.

"Her. My friend, Dianna."

"Her name isn't Dianna, it's Donna," Luke corrected her, then felt his face slip into a frown.

"You remember Donna, then," Miss Evangelista said slyly, and he realised he'd been tricked. "You can remember if you really try." The woman-Donna-reached them, clearly afraid but trying to look confident.

"I got your little note," she said in a steely voice. "You said 'the world is wrong'. What does that mean?"

"Exactly what I said. You've suspected it before, haven't you? Both of you." At this, Donna glanced down at Luke, a flicker of confusion and recognision of her face. "Yes, Donna. You know him."

"How do you know my name?" Donna demanded to know loudly. "Who are you?"

"But you know me." She waited for the penny to drop, and Donna looked horrified. "That's right. I am what is left of Miss Evangelista."

"I'm sorry, but...you're dead," she whispered. "You're her...how can you be her?"

"I was saved. Like you, and like Luke. Except I am dead, and you aren't. I was just a data ghost, automatically uploaded. You're both alive, waiting to be sent back to The Library," she explained.

"That note you gave me last night-"

"You didn't get my note last night," she interrupted. "You got it a few seconds ago. Upon deciding to come, you suddenly found yourself arriving. That is how time progresses here, in the manner of a dream."

"Why do you wear that?" Donna asked, choosing to ignore her chilling words and pointing instead at the veil. "If I had a face like yours, I wouldn't hide it."

"You remember my face, then?" she said, and Donna looked surprised at herself. "The memories are all still there, you've just been programmed not to look. And in answer, you are all perfect reproductions of yourselves. I was a data ghost, I'm a very poor copy of myself. My image is not my own."

"You're clever," Luke said, and she nodded.

"Yes. I think a decimal point may have shifted in my IQ. I have the two qualities required to see absolute truth. I am brilliant...and unloved." Her head turned to face Luke. "You could remember. I think you do. But you won't, because you don't want to."

"I-"

"Your parents aren't real," she pressed on. "This world isn't real. None of it is real."

"You said you were dead," Donna said in panic, while Luke went cold and still, fighting back the truth. "I'm not dead. My children aren't dead?"

"Your children were never alive," Miss Evangelista said, and Donna's fear changed into fury.

"Don't say that! Don't you DARE say that about my children!"

"They aren't real," Miss Evangelista continued camly. "Nothing here is real. Not Luke's parents, and not your children."

"Shut up!" Donna screeched. "And why are you wearing that veil?" Furiously, she tugged it off, then screamed as it revealed a grotesque, warped face like wax melted under a candle.

"The system couldn't completely reproduce your image," Luke said, and she nodded, pulling the veil back over herself.

"No," Donna said stubbornly, backing away. "No!"

"I brought you here because a playpark is the easiest place to see it," Miss Evangelista said. "Look at the children." They both did, and Luke flinched as he realised.

"They're the same," he said in a trembling voice, half-expecting the world to collapse around him.

"The same boy and the same girl, over and over again-"

"NO!" Donna shouted, stumbling away. She instantly went to take Luke's hand and take him with her, then stopped suddenly, her eyes fillling with panic and terror. There was a cry as one of the many little girls in pink jackets fell to the ground.

"Mummy, my knee!" she wailed, and Donna rushed over and away from Luke and Miss Evangelista.

"Oh, look at that knee," she soothed, wrapping her tightly in a hug. "Look at that silly knee..."

"She isn't real," Miss Evangelista said as Donna frantically gathered up her two children and pulled them away. "I'm sorry, but now you understand that you won't be able to keep a hold! They are sustained only by your belief!" Donna ignored her completely and carried on walking away quickly, running from the truth. There was a brief silence, in which only the rustling and squeaking of the swings' chains could be heard.

"So none of this is real," Luke said in a hollow voice. "Nothing."

"There are more like you and Donna, who were saved. But no, nothing is real. I'm sorry."

"I keep having...I think they're dreams," Luke told her. "At night." The dreams were sometimes a bit happy, but always sad. A lot of the time he was running. There was a factory that frightened him, terrifying, strange creatures and monsters. But then there were the people that made him happy. A girl who's hand he had often held who made him feel safe, a boy who laughed and made him feel both stupid and happy, a woman with kind brown eyes. But they were somehow sad, and they faded into a man with old, sad eyes and a face that kept changing, a blue police box, a woman with ginger hair...Donna, he realised, and sometimes a younger girl with blonde hair and a dazzling grin that never stayed for long. He told Doctor Moon, and he said they were just dreams.

"You're smart. If you look properly...you can really see."

And he did. He looked around, and the playground was completely empty. There were no giggling kids running about and using the equipment, no mothers gossiping and scolding on benches, no elderly men engaged in a game of chess. Nothing.

"There's no one," he said. "But what about Donna?"

"She's real. The people saved from The Library are real, but everything else is a lie."

"My parents?" Luke looked desperately at the black veil that hid Evangelista's eyes, still pretty despite the distorted features.

"I'm sorry," she said sorrowfully. Luke now knew that the dreams were not dreams-he had never had a dream, and still hadn't. They were snippets of the truth. The truth was perhaps worse than the lie, and he didn't know what to do...he just wanted to go home.

"Are you OK?"

Luke stared at Annabeth, his mother, as she stood in front of him in their living room that he was suddenly in. Except she wasn't really there, she wasn't real. There was no smell of cookies warm from the oven. There was no first day of reception photographed and on the mantlepiece. There was no mother, no father, no family. There was no normal life. He had been given what he had always wanted- a childhood and a family that was safe and reliable. But if that meant shutting out his old life, he couldn't do it.

As he made that decision, his real memories exploded and his old life came flooding back. He was created, he wasn't normal, he had nearly died and put the world at risk more than once, and he was alone. But first had come Maria, with her curls and smiles and safety. Then Sarah-Jane...mum. The real mum, and he loved her. And Clyde, cheeky and cracking jokes and hiding a sensitive side. They were gone, but alive in his memories. And now he had the Doctor, the alien man who was lonely and brilliant, and Luke knew he liked him with him. Donna, full of fire and rage...and kindness. Jenny, who was like him, and had died to save who she loved. She had wanted to see new worlds, and Luke wasn't going to let himself be trapped forever in this fake one.

"You're not real," Luke told Annabeth, devasted but honest with himself. It was time to end the lie. "I want you to be, but you aren't. I wish you were, but you're not my mum and you're not real." There was a catch in his voice and Annabeth looked shocked and hurt. He had lost his real mum, Sarah-Jane, and that had been so painful. Now he was pushing his second chance away. He felt tears burn and blinked them back, but when his vision cleared she was gone. He slumped down onto the sofa, and all of a sudden he was terrified-what if more and more people vanished until it was just him, alone?

Almost on cue, the front door clicked and there was the jangle of keys as Peter walked in.

"Where's Annabeth?" he asked brightly.

"Gone," Luke said dully.

"Gone where?" Petter asked. "Shopping? About time, we've been out of milk for ages."

"No," Luke said miserably, not even bothering to really consider how anyone could possibly be out of or even drink virtual milk. "She's disappeared." To his horror, Peter was fading away, until he was completely gone. Unable to handle the crushing silence for even a moment, Luke leapt up and sprinted outside into the street, where for the briefest of seconds he could see people-an old lady walking her spaniel, a mother pushing a baby in a pram, a young couple kissing as they walked-before they all disappeared like smoke on the wind, only one figure remaining, standing tall under the rapidly blackening sky streaked with a bloody red. Evangelista.

"Why would you tell me it wasn't real?" he shouted at her, feeling tears running down his face. "I was happy, and now it's gone!"

"You had to know. And you already did, you knew it wasn't right," she replied in the same cool, collected voice. "You only kept a hold so long because you didn't want to believe it. You were created, and could never be normal. So when this was offered to you, you seized it. But people cannot live in dreams."

"How do you know that about me?" Luke whispered, afraid of the answer and backing away.

"I'm dead, and I'm intelligent. I have knowledge beyond your wildest imagination," she said, a hint of sadness in her tone. "I am not truly myself any longer. I saw so much, and can easily access the data banks. Too much knowledge is a burden. I'm sorry you had to be told in this way, but the truth must be known. Perhaps it is true that ignorance is bliss, but it is still false."

"My mum's dead," he sobbed, but if there was any sympathy on her face he couldn't see it past the covering. "I only have the Doctor and Donna."

"Some have no one at all. And that's why you must leave this place," she said, and Luke realised that the sky wasn't just darkening-everything was.

"What's happening?" he asked in fear, and she sounded happy and sad when she replied.

"You're being saved."

* * *

The Library.

It now surrounded him, and was no longer silent. Confused looking people were bustling around inside, and Luke saw a joyful Mr Lux standing by a computer.

"You're back!" he whooped. "You're all back!"

Everyone looked puzzled, but soon Luke saw women running to men and vice-versa, couples reuniting with a kiss, friends finding each other and speaking rapidly, all looking totally bemused but pleased. A few looked devastated, those like Luke for whom the other life had been better. And, standing alone by a bookshelf, was Donna, her head bowed and her hair covering her face. Slowly, he went over to her, and gently took her head. She glanced up, her face streaked with tear tracks.

"It wasn't real," she said softly, and he knew she was thinking of the little boy and girl. "They weren't real, were they?"

"No," Luke said in a voice that wavered, and he felt a tear slip from his own eye. They both moved in for a hug at the same time, and they stayed together for a long while, locked in an embrace in an attempt to shelter each other from the pain, before the Doctor was by their side.

"Sorry I took so long," he said, trying to sound humerous, but with clear sadness in his heart. "I was a bit tied up. Handcuffs."

"What were you doing in handcuffs?" Donna asked, wiping away her tears.

"River Song," the Doctor said simply, and Donna's eyebrows shot up.

"Really, there's a time and a place-"

"She's dead, Donna," he interrupted. "She died to save us all. I tried to stop her..." Donna tilted her head, her eyes full of sympathy, and rubbed his arm.

"I'm sorry," she said with feeling, and he swallowed and nodded, staring at the floor.

"Yeah. Yeah. But it's OK, life goes on," he said, then looked up and glanced at them both in turn. "So, you were saved. Must have been some time you were having."

"I had a husband," Donna said. "And children. A family...I don't suppose they were real."

"Some were," Luke said bracingly. "Your children weren't, but your husband might be real. You could find him."

"Yeah," she said, but he could tell she didn't really believe it. The Doctor gave Luke a sideways glance.

"And you?"

"...I had parents," he said, remembering the smiling faces. "Annabeth and Peter."

Nobody had to say anything. Their day had been long-like a lifetime, for him and Donna. They just wanted to forget.

* * *

Later, in the TARDIS, the Doctor found Luke in one of the many libraries. Donna had shut herself in her room, and he knew he shouldn't disturb her. He had saved River, and had his future self to thank. Still, there was a lingering, black thought that couldn't be shifted.

He had a future self, and he wasn't going to die in this body. Judging by River's age and technology, he couldn't have long.

But he couldn't dwell on it.

"Luke?" he asked, and he looked up from the book he had been reading.

"Yes?"

"Are you..." The Doctor felt awkward, and went to sit in the seat in front of him. "Are you happy with me and Donna?"

"I am," Luke replied, giving him a small, sad smile. "I miss mum. But I like it here, I like travelling with you."

"Good," the Doctor said, looking pleased. "That's good." For a moment, he and Luke shared a look, and he added softly, "Sarah-Jane would have been proud of you. Do you know, last time I saw her, she turned down my offer to take her travelling again."

"Really?" Luke asked, eager to her more of her.

"Yep. She had moved on and had a new life. Her and K-9. But she had one regret."

"...What?"

"She never started a family. There was no one to tell her stories to." The Doctor smiled at Luke. "She must have adored you."

"She loved you too," Luke said, fighting back tears. They were different tears, though...happy. "There were pictures of you everywhere, and drawings."

"Really?" The Doctor looked smug, and ran a hand through his hair proudly.

"Clyde thought your scarf was really uncool."

"No! My scarf was brilliant!" he whined, and Luke laughed, breaking the heaviness of the atmosphere. The Doctor stood up and pulled a book down from one of the shelves. "Now-have you read the books on the history of Gallifrey?"

He hadn't, and they spent many hours reading and talking together. It started off about Gallifrey, and then The Doctor's memories of it, then soon old assistants and mostly Sarah-Jane. In exchange, Luke told some of his tales. Memories may not be the present day, and may be long gone...but it was OK to live in them sometimes.


	7. Chapter 7 Midnight

# Midnight # **Disclaimer** I do not anyone **A/N:The chapter is going to have a twist**

Luke was leaning against the wall, a brochure about Midnight in one hand that he was half-reading while also listening to The Doctor's futile over-the-phone efforts to persuade Donna to come on the trip accross Midnight. No matter how much talk there was of sparkling diamond waterfalls and glittering spires poisoned by deadly sunlight, Donna still oppted to remain at the leisure palace and bathe in the sun herself, safe behind thick glass. The Doctor was well aware of this, but literally moments before boarding he had phoned her yet again, pestering her relentlessly.

"...This enormous jewel the size of a glacier reaches the cliffs of Oblivion and then shatters into sapphires at the edge, and then fall a hundred thousand feat into a crystal ravine." There was a pause and Luke could faintly hear Donna's response. "Oh, Come on! They're boarding now!" he whined. "Luke wants you to come, don't you Luke?"

"Hm?" Luke looked up from the page about the Crusador Vehicle they would be taking. "Oh, I don't mind-"

"He does. Diamonds Donna! Four hours, that's all it will take!" The Doctor paused, and Luke could her much antagonised squeaky sounds from the phone, Donna apparently stubbornly preferring to sunbathe. "You be careful, that's extonic sunlight...All right," he relented miserably. "I give up. We'll be back for dinner, try that anti-gravity resturant. With bibs." There was more squeaking, and he looked amused. "See you later." He listened as Donna held him. "He'll be fine, I promise...D-Donna...Donna, it won't break down they don't-no, there are no 'space creatures'...I just do! Look...we'll both be fine...Nah, taking a big space-truck with a bunch of strangers accross a diamond planet called Midnight?" The Doctor smirked and said the dreaded words before hanging up. "What could possibly go wrong?"

They boarded the 'space truck' Luke still reading the brochure.

"It says here that the vehicle uses micro-petrol engines," he read with interest. "I've never heard of one of those before."

"I helped invent it," The Doctor said casually, and frowned at the paragraph Luke was reading. "And they've only bothered to write four sentences about it. Typical. Three pages on the different kinds of cheescakes and scones offered at the leisure palace and four sentences about something that's actually important. That's humans for you. Apart from you, obviously."

"What about Donna?"

"The less said about that the better."

They found themselves some seats, and were looking around the spacious interior when the hostess approached them, a fixed smile on her face.

"The headphones for channels one to thirty six," she said, passing them the headphones from the little trolley she was wheeling down the aisle. "Complimentary earplugs, complimentary slippers, complimentary juice pack and complimentary peanuts. I must warn you, some products may contain nuts."

"That'll be the peanuts," The Doctor said, dumping the pile of complimetary objects into Luke's arms, the peanuts rolling from the top of the mound and onto the floor, rattling as it went under the seat.

"Sorry," Luke said to the irritated looking hostess, diving under the seat to retrieve them. The hostess took a deep breath, and appeared to be counting silently to ten in her head before breathing out again.

"Enjoy your trip," she told them testily, and The Doctor beamed.

"Oh, I can't wait! Allons-y!"

"...I'm sorry?" she asked, looking thoroughly fed up.

"It's french. For let's go."

"Fascinating." The hostess pushed her trolley away, and the man behind them eagerly leaned forwards to greet them. The Doctor turned around and shook his hand with a grin, while Luke watched sympathetically as the younger woman beside him rumaged through a bag. He himself looked through his own, tugging out a book he had brought with him, forwarned about the length of the journey.

"Hobbes," the man said, wringing the grinning Doctor's hand. "Professor Winfold Hobbes."

"I'm The Doctor, hello," The Doctor replied, clearly in his element while Luke opened his book and attempted to read-social situations weren't his strong point. Unfortunately, he wasn't about to be left alone, as The Doctor nudged him pointedly with his elbow. "This is my nephew, Luke. Luke, say hello."

"Hello," he said dutifully. At this moment, the women with the Professor rose from her seat and shook their hands.

"And I'm Dee Dee," she said. "Dee Dee Blasco." As a first impression, she appeared to Luke as a cheerful girl full of energy, an energy that was squashed by the dominating Professor.

"Don't bother the man," he chastisised, and with one last smile from Dee Dee they sat back down. The Doctor was gazing around and shot a smile at a blonde woman reading nearby, but she only gave him a sulky look before returning to her reading. However rude that may be, Luke fully sympathised. He tried to return to his book, only to be disturbed as a high female voice rung out.

"Don't be silly!" Luke and The Doctor peered around to see a woman and a man looking over at a younger boy sitting away from them by himself. "Come and sit with us!" the woman, presumably his mother, pressed on. Her son had dark hair and clothes that matched his gloomy expression perfectly as he attempted to shut them out with earphones. "Look! We get slippers!"

"Jethro, do what your mother says," the man boomed.

"I'm sitting here," Jethro snapped. Luke watched him as he shunned his parents, seeming embarressed of them. He didn't know what he had.

"Ladies and Gentlemen and varitions thereupon," the hostess said perkily, strolling up the aisle. "Welcome on board the Crusader fifty. If you would fasten your seatbelts, we will be leaving any moment." There was a flurry of movement as everyone fumbled for their seatbelts. "Doors," the hostess said, and there was whir and a blarring alarm as they locked. "Shields down." Another alarm followed as any natural light was purged as dark shielding blocked the windows. Luke felt a twinge of anxiety at being shut in like this, but with a glance at The Doctor's calm exterior felt reassured. This certainly wasn't a good place to be claustrophobic, though. "I'm afraid the view is shielded until we reach The Waterfall Palace. Also, a reminder. Midnight has no air so please don't touch the exterior door seals. Fire exit at the rear, and should we need to use it, you first!" She let out a forced laugh. "Now I will hand you over to driver Joe." There was a small crackle of an intercomn and a screen at the front lit up with a map as a low voice filled the vehicle.

"There's been a diamond fall at the Winter Witch Canyon, so we'll be taking a slight detor as you'll see on the map."

The Doctor put on his glasses at peered at the said map.

"...Duration is estimated at four hours," the driver continued. "Thank you for travelling with us, and as they used to say in the olden days, wagons roll!"The vehicle rumbled and shuddered as they departed, and The Doctor gave Luke a reassuring grin upon seeing the alarmed look on his face.

The hostess appeared to think it a good idea to have music, cartoons, and a moving piece of art all playing at once. The noise was piercing, and Luke saw many people utilise the complimentary earplugs, himself among them. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw The Doctor's sonic screwdriver appear. With its buzz, the screens mercifully retracted and the noise ceased.

"Well that's a mercy," the Professor said happily while the hostess frantically jabbed buttons.

"I do appologise, Ladies and Gentlemen and variations there upon, we seem to have had a failure of the entertainment system."

"Aw," The Doctor said, looking sincerely upset, then winking at Luke. The sulky blonde woman accross the aisle gave The Doctor a small grin, clearly having seen and approved of his intervention.

"What do we do?" Jethro's mother cried out, her husband looking stroppy beside her.

"We've got four hours of this?" he asked moodily. "Four hours of just sitting here?"

"Tell you what,"The Doctor said loudly, taking charge as usual and leaning over the top of his seat to look at them all. "We'll have to talk to each other instead." At the stricken looks of horror on each an every person's face, he grinned angelically.

*line break*

At first, the passengers were more than a bit wary at The Doctor's suggestion. But faced with only silence and boredom as another option, they soon warmed up and were quickly laughing and exchanging stories.

While The Doctor chatted to Jethro's parents, laughing about something to do with a nose plug, Luke remained in his seat. Social interaction wasn't something he was that comfortable with, and he was happier reading his book alone. But after a while a shadow fell over the pages, and when he looked up he saw that it belonged to Dee Dee.

"Hello, Luke, isn't it?" she asked, and sat down next to him.

"Yeah," was all he could think to say, nodding. Dee Dee glanced at his book.

"What's it about?" she asked, and he showed her the cover.

"It's about the Theory of Relativity, mostly," he said, shrugging. Dee Dee blinked at him, surprised, then smiled.

"Really?" she asked eagerly, and he nodded. Fairly quickly, she began to chatter passionately about scientific theories and discoveries, as well as projects she had been involved in. Luke found himself easily joining in, and as they reached the subject of the lost moon of Poosh he was completely comfortable with Dee Dee.

*line break*

Jethro Kane had not wanted to go on the trip. His-in his opinion-highly irritating parents had insisted, saying it was a 'family trip'. There had been many raised voices, but with many threats to confiscate his things and restrict him to his room, Jethro had allowed himself to be miserably dragged aboard the Crusader.

In a desperate attempt to escape his mother's highly embarressing stories, Jethro moved to sit alongside Dee Dee and Luke, only to realise that not only did he have no idea what they were saying, but that he also didn't care. Dee Dee, however, attempted to rope him into the conversation, and Jethro changed the subject easily to music artists. If his looks matched his true personality he would have ruthlessly made fun of Luke for having no clue what they were talking about, but they didn't, not really. So after one lighthearted jibe, the conversation was steered to Luke's life and his experiences.

Later, after Luke and The Doctor had chatted to the sulky woman-Sky, they learnt she was called-and became if not friends, acqaintances, everyone was watching a slide show of the Professor's on Midnight when the vehicle suddenly shuddered and went still beneath them with a horrible screeching sound.

"...We've stopped," Jethro's mother, Val, said anxiously. Luke looked over at The Doctor, who's face was a mask of concern. "Have we stopped?"

"Are we there?"

"We can't be, it's too soon."

"No, they don't stop," the Professor said worriedly. "Crusader vehicles never stop." The hostess appeared to recover herself, and stepped forwards.

"If you could just return to your seats, it's just a...as small delay," she said, going over to a phone mounted on the wall. Instantly, the passengers began to chatter nervously.

"May be just a pit stop."

"There's no pit to stop in," the Professor protested at Biff's (Jethro's father's) comment. "I've been on this expedition fourteen times, they never stop-"

"Well, evidently we HAVE stopped, so there's no point in denying it!" Sky snapped, speaking up for the first time and shooting the Professor a vicious glare. Meanwhile, Jethro began to laugh.

"We've broken down!" he whooped gleefully.

"Thanks, Jethro."

"In the middle of nowhere!"

"That's enough, now stop it!"

Once again, the flustering hostess appeared before them.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, and variations thereupon, we're just experiencing a short delay," she said. "The driver needs to stabilise the engine feeds." Everyone appeared relieved, but Luke exchanged a glance with The Doctor at the hostess's spectacular rubbish, that continued. "It's perfectly routine, so if you could just stay in your seats..."

Seemingly having had enough, The Doctor walked over to the door to the driver's cabin determinedly.

"No, I'm sorry, sir, I-"

"There you go," The Doctor interrupted, flashing the psychic paper in the weakly protesting face of the hostess. "Engine expert. Two ticks."

"Sorry sir, if you could just sit down!" she called after him as he walked straight through, ignoring her. "You're not supposed to be in there...!" The door closed in her face, and she turned to face the rest of them, tugging on her jacket and attempting to remain dignified. "Just...stay in your seats, won't be a moment..."

As they obeyed and quiet, worried mumbling began, Luke was feeling a growing sense of being trapped. Micropetrol engines didn't stablise, both he and The Doctor knew that. So why had they stopped? Why would they driver lie? That must mean he didn't know...

He was beginning to wish he had stayed with Donna.

Soon, The Doctor returned, backing up the hostess's story.

"But-" Luke was cut off by a look from The Doctor as he sat down.

"They sent a distress signal," he whispered to him under his breath. "It's fine."

"Why did we stop?" Luke asked, but wasn't answered. "Doctor?"

"I don't know," he said, running a hand through his hair. "But we looked outside and...there was this shadow. Apparently. Still, nothing to worry about."

"Shadow?" Luke was hit by a sudden thought. "Not Vashta Nerada?"

"They couldn't stop this vehicle," The Doctor said grimly. Luke was about to ask more, when Dee Dee tapped The Doctor's arm.

"Excuse me, Doctor," she said softly. "They're micropetrol engines, aren't they?"

"Now, don't bother the man," the Professor scolded her, starting to seriously irritate Luke.

"My father was a mechanic," Dee Dee said, "Micropetrol doesn't stabilise. What does stabilise mean?"

"Well, a bit of flim-flam. Don't worry, they'll sort it out."

"So it's not the engine?" the Professor asked nervously.

"Just a little pause, that's all-"

"How much air have we got?" the Professor pressed on.

"Professor, it's fine-"

"What did he say?" Val shouted in panic.

"Nothing-"

"Are we running out of air?"

"I was just speculating," the Professor said, but nobody appeared to be listening.

"Is that right, miss?" Biff demanded to be told as the hostess reappeared from the driver's cabin. "Are we running out of air?"

"Is that what the captain said?"

"If you could all just remain calm-"

"How much air have we got?"

"Mum, just stop it!"

"Everything is under control-"

"It doesn't look like it!"

An explosion of shouting and panic occured, with everyone yelling at the hostess and each other.

"Ssh," The Doctor said, rising from his seat. "Ssh ssh...QUIET!" he finally bellowed, and everyone fell silent. The Professor dropped back into his seat, looking ashamed. "Now, if you'd care to listen to my good friend Dee Dee..."

"Oh, um..." Nervously, Dee Dee stood up. "It's just that, well, the air's on a circular filter, so we could stay breathing for ten years."

"There you go," The Doctor said. "And I've spoken to the captain, I can guarantee you, everything's fine." There was a brief moment of relief, before there was a loud slamming sound that echoed through the room. The relieved silence suddenly became one of icy fear.

"...What was that?" Val asked shakily.

"It must be the metal," the Professor decided. "We're cooling down. It's just settling."

"Rocks. Could be rocks, falling," Dee Dee suggested, but Luke could see the doubt in her eyes.

"What is that?" Luke asked The Doctor quietly, but then the pounding came again. Like knocking.

"There's someone out there," Val said in alarm.

"Don't be ridiculous."

"Like I said, it could be rocks."

"We're out in the open, nothing could fall against the sides," the hostess added unhelpfully. Twice again the pounding firmly came.

"Knock knock..." The Doctor said slowly.

"Who's there?" Jethro added. A scared silence descended, that Sky broke.

"Is there something out there?" she asked, a wild terror in her eyes. "Well? Anyone?" The banging came again, and people leapt out of their seats. "What the hell is making that noise!"

"I'm sorry, but the light out there is extonic," the Professor said slowly, as though explaining something to people who were completely stupid. "That means it would destroy any living thing in a split second. It is impossible for someone to be outside!"

"Well, what the hell is that then!" Sky panicked as the pounding returned. The Doctor rushed to the sides to investigate, only for the banging to continue, quicker this time.

"It's moving," Jethro said, looking afraid now as the knocks came from the other end of the vehicle...the side with the door. There was a clunk and a rattle.

"It's trying the door!" Val said, terrified.

"There is no 'it'!" the Professor said. "There's nothing out there, there can't be!" The clanging continued, before a banging came from the roof, then the other side.

"Can it get in?" Val asked fearfully.

"No, that door's on 200-weight hydronics," Dee Dee answered quickly.

"Stop it, don't encourage them!" the Professor snapped.

"Well, what do you think it is?"

"Biff, don't!" Val cried as her husband approached the door.

"Mr Kane, better not," The Doctor advised, but he continued and inspected the door.

"It's cast-iron that door," he said, seemingly reassured, then knocked on it three times.

BANG BANG BANG.

Gasps and sobs swept though the room as the exterior hits came.

"Three times!" Val wailed. Sky had her hands over her mouth, and Jethro looked aghast. "Did you hear that? It did it three times! It did it three times!"

"All right, all right. Everyone calm down," The Doctor said coolly.

"No, but it answered," Sky said, shaking violently and uncontrollably with fear. "It answered! Don't tell me that thing's not alive, it answered him!"

"I really must insist you get back to your seats!" the hostess said as the thudding came swiftly again. Like it was teasing them.

"No, don't just stand there telling us the rules!" Sky shouted furiously. "You're the hostess, you're supposed to DO something!"

The Doctor ignored them, and firmly knocked against the side four times with one fist. There was a long silence filled with hope. Then-

BANG BANG BANG BANG.

"What the hell's making that noise?" Sky asked hysterically. "She said she'd get me. Stop it! Make it stop! Make it stop! Don't just stand there looking at me!" she sobbed as everyone stared at here in shock. "It's not my fault! He started it-"

"Calm down!" Dee Dee shouted over her high pitched panicking.

"He made it worse! Why couldn't you leave it alone? Stop staring at me! Someone tell me what the HELL IT IS!"

"Calm down!" Dee Dee yelled again, and The Doctor pulled Luke behind him as everyone backed away from Sky and the pounding returned, this time louder and slower. Steady like footsteps, moving over the roof towards Sky.

"It's coming for me," she gasped in realisation. "It's coming for me! It's coming for me!" she screamed, backing away into a wall. "It's coming for me!" She screamed shrilly, and The Doctor pushed Luke back and rushed for her, but was too late. The whole vehicle shuddered and tipped suddenly, shaking left to right. Sparks flew into the air as they all fell to the floor or over the seats, and the light blinked out into pitch darkness before everything went still. There was quiet, except for the damanged, broken warbles of the singer on one of the screens that had reactivated during the shaking. Groans of pain and sobbing joined as everyone sat up.

"You OK?" The Doctor asked Luke, hauling him up.

"Yeah," Luke stammered. "Yeah...what was that?"

"Earthquake," the Professor said. "Must be."

"But that's impossible!" Dee Dee said. "The ground is fixed, it's solid!"

"We've got torches!" the hostess said. "We've got torches, everyone take a torch, they're in the back of the seats!" Everyone fumbled for a torch and lights blinked on. Luke, however, looked to The Doctor.

"What about Sky?" he asked. Jethro seemed to be thinking along the same lines, and the second he got his torch he went over to where Sky had been, directing the beam of slim light at her.

"Oh, Jethro," Val said tearfully, following. "Sweetheart, come here!"

"Never mind me, what about her?" he said, not taking his eyes off Sky. Soon all torches were pointing at her. She was crouched on the floor with her back to them, her hands clenching her head tightly.

"What's happened to the seats?" Val noticed, staring at the torn fabric and metal poles jutting out of cushion.

"Who did that?"

"They've been ripped up!"

The Doctor moved the comfort Sky, but Luke stayed away-something had ripped up the seats, which meant something inside had the power or the rage to do that. Behind him, the hostess tried and failed to contact the driver.

"I'm not getting any response," she said, looking tense as she hurried towards the door to the cabin. "The intercom must be down!" She reached the door, and slammed her hand against the button to open it. Instantly a blazing white light flooded the cabin before she hit the button once again to close it.

"What happened? What was that?" Val screamed, pointing at the door.

"Is it the driver? Have we lost the driver?"

"The cabins' gone," the hostess said, trembling.

"Don't be ridiculous," the Professor said. "It can't be gone, how can it be gone?"

"You SAW it!" Dee Dee said, clearly exhasperated. The hostess appeared to be in a state of total shock.

"There's nothing there. Like it was ripped away," she said.

"What are you doing?" Biff shouted as The Doctor opened up the wiring by the door, with the screwdriver.

"That's better, a little bit of light," he said as the torch light was suddenly upon him. "Thank you. Molto bene."

"Do you know what you're doing?"

"The cabin's gone, you better leave that wall alone!"

"The cabin can't be gone!"

"No, it's safe," The Doctor said, pulling away the panel. "Any rupture would automatically seal itself...he trailed off as he saw the torn, sliced wiring inside. "Unless something slice it off. You're right. The cabin's gone."

"But if it get's seperated..."

"It loses integrity." The Doctor straighted up and looked around seriously at them all. "I'm sorry. They've been reduced to dust. The driver and the mechanic. But they sent a distress signal, help is on its way. They saved our lives. We are gonna get out of here, I promise. We're still alive, and they're gonna find us."

"How long until they get here?" Luke asked.

"Not long. Soon, I promise I'll get you out of here! Donna will kill me if I don't," The Doctor said, patting him on the back.

"Doctor, look at her," Jethro said, still watching the rigid Sky.

"Right. Yeah, sorry," The Doctor says, returning to the issue at hand. "Anyone got a medical kit?"

"Why won't she turn around?" Jethro asked.

"What's her name?"

"Silvestry," the hostess said. "Mrs Sky Silvestry."

"Sky?" The Doctor asked, approaching her slowly. "You all right? Can you hear me?" She remained the same, and Luke walked up behind the Doctor. "Can you move, Sky? Just look at me."

"That noise, from outside," Jethro said darkly. "It's stopped."

"Well, thank God for that!" Val cried.

"But what if it's not outside anymore?" Jethro continued. "What if it's inside?"

"Inside? Where?"

"It was heading for her," Jethro said, looking at the motionless Sky.

"Sky?" The Doctor spoke softly. "It's all right, Sky. I just want you to turn around. Face me." For a second, it looked like nothing had changed. Then, slowly, she brought down a hand from her head. Then the other. Everyone watched, the heart's in their mouths, and she turned to face them. The Doctor leant forwards, and he blue eyes searched around the room rapidly. But she wasn't afraid. It was like she was sussing them out. The Doctor looked at her, and she looked at him. Experimentally, he tilted his head sideways. She did too. He tilted it the other way. So did she.

"...Sky?" he asked. For a moment, she stared at him with her wide eyes.

"...Sky?" she repeated slowly, and Luke felt his whole body go cold.

"Are you all right?"

"Are you all right?" she said, word for word.

"Are you hurt?"

"Are you hurt?"

"You don't have to talk."

"You don't have to talk."

"I'm trying to help."

"I'm trying to help."

In a way, it reminded Luke of the first time he had ever spoken. He had copied Maria, learning how to form words before he fully understood them. But this was different. Sky wasn't afraid or curious...her eyes were dead and vacant. Cold.

"My name's The Doctor," he continued.

"My name's The Doctor," she said chillingly.

"Okay, can you stop?"

"Okay, can you stop?"

"I'd like you to stop."

"I'd like you to stop."

"Doctor," Luke began, but stopped dead as Sky spoke.

"Doctor," she copied. The Doctor got up and pulled Luke back.

"Just...keep quiet," he warned.

"Just keep quiet."

"But don't understand, " Luke said. "What's happened to her?"

"But I don't understand," Sky said, her eyes pinned on him unnervingly. "What happened to her?"

"Why's she doing that?" the Professor asked, and he head snapped towards him.

"Why's she doing that?" she repeated.

"She's gone mad," Biff said, and she looked to him too.

"She's gone mad."

"Stop it," Val said.

"Stop it."

"I said stop it."

"I said stop it."

"I don't think she can," Dee Dee said.

"I don't think she can," Sky repeated with the exact same inflection.

"Now stop it, this isn't funny," the Professor said.

"Now stop it, this isn't funny."

"Shh, shh, shh, all of you," The Doctor said.

"Shh, shh, shh, all of you."

"My name's Jethro."

"My name's Jethro."

"Jethro, leave it, just shut up!"

"Jethro, leave it, just shut up!" The Doctor and Sky looked at each other. The Doctor narrowed his eyes, but got closer, curious.

"Why are you repeating?" he asked her.

"Why are you repeating?" was all she said in response.

"What is that, learning?"

"What is that, learning?"

"Copying?"

"Copying?"

"Absorbing?"

"Absorbing?"

The Doctor paused, then began to recite the square root of pie. With barely a second's delay Sky repeated each number of the strong of numbers as he did.

"But that's impossible!" the Professor gasped.

"But that's impossible!"

Everyone began talking at once, Sky rapidly repeating every word spoken, the tension and panic hightening to bursting point. Suddenly, the lights flooded back on, the room now lit by a soft glow.

"That's the back up system," the hostess said.

"Well," Biff breathed. "That's a bit better." Luke disagreed-because Sky wasn't repeating anymore. So as not to cause a panic, he walked over to The Doctor.

"She's not repeating," he whispered to him. "Is that good or bad?"

"I don't know," he said seriously.

"What about the rescue?" Val asked the hostess, oblivious to the development in Sky's situation. "How long is it going to take?"

"About sixty minutes, that's all," the hostess said, and the Professor stepped forwards.

"Then I suggest we all calm down," he said, and Luke frowned. His voice sounded odd...echoey? "This panic isn't helping. And that poor woman is evidently in a state of self-induced hysteria."

"Doctor," Jethro said fearfully, the only one watching Sky other than The Doctor or Luke.

"I know," he said, waiting for the others to realise.

"Doctor, now step back," the Professor said authoratively. His pompous ignorance would have been laughable if not for the terrible situation. "I think you should leave her alone..." He stopped as he realised, and watched Sky's lips moving at the exact same moment his did. "What's she doing? Why's she doing that?" Now as she repeated, Sky had a dark smile tugging at her lips. "How could she do that?"

"She's talking with you," Val said in shock, then froze as her words were spoken twice. "And with me! Oh my God! Biff, what's she doing?"

"She's repeating," Jethro said. "At exactly the same time."

"That's impossible," Dee Dee breathed, and the Professor looked stunned.

"There's not even a delay," he said.

"Oh man, that is weird," Jethro said with a shake of his head.

"But that's not copying," Luke said, his own voice echoing as Sky watched him, her eyes no longer dead, or interested. Just dark, gleeful...almost hungry. "It's like she knows what we're going to say. Like she's in our minds."

"Exactly," The Doctor said. "I think you should all be very, very quiet, have you got that?"

"How's she doing it?" Val asked hysterically.

"Mrs Kane, please be quiet-"

"How can she do that? She's got my voice, she's got my words!"

"Darling, be quiet," Biff said, grabbing her shoulders and pulling her back. "Hush now, hush. She's doing it to me!" he realised as her mouth formed his words.

"Just stop it!" The Doctor shouted. "All of you, stop it, please!" As quiet fell, The Doctor knelt in front of Sky again. "Now then, Sky-are you Sky? Is Sky still in there? Mrs Silvestry? You know exactly what I'm going to say. How are you doing that?" He sat back. "Roast beef. Bananas. The Medusa Cascade." Sky repeated the nonsense words exactly, at exactly the same second as he did. "Bang! Rose Tyler, Martha Jones, Donna Noble, Tardis!" She repeated that too. "Shamble bobble dibble dooble. Oh, Doctor, you're so handsome. Yes I am, thank you...A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O..." he stopped on the cusp of 'P'. As did Sky. Looking both fascinated and afraid, he got up and stepped away. "First she repeats and then she catches up. What's the next stage?"

"Next stage of what?" Dee Dee asked, but he didn't answer. Perhaps, Luke thought, he didn't know.

"It's not her, is it?" Jethro said bluntly. "That's not Mrs Silvestry any more."

"I don't think so, no," The Doctor said, and Val began to cry, her sobs echoed by what had once been Sky. "I think the more we talk the more she learns. Now I'm all for education but in this case...maybe not. Let's just move back. Come on, come with me. Everyone, get back, all of you, as far as you can."

"Doctor, make her stop!" Val sobbed.

"Val, come with me, come to the back. Stop looking at her. Come on. Jethro, you too. Everyone, come on," he said, ushuring them to the furthest wall from Sky, then standing in front of them. "Fifty minutes. That's all we need. Fifty minutes until the rescue arrives and she's not exactly strong. Look at her. All she's got is our voices."

"I...I can't look at her," Val said fearfully. "It's those eyes."

"We must not look at goblin men," Dee Dee said. Everyone looked at her.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Biff asked.

"It's a poem," The Doctor said. "Christina Rossetti."

"We must not look at goblin men, we must not buy their fruits," Dee Dee said quietly, Sky reciting the same poem. "Who knows upon what soil they fed their hungry, thirty roots?" There was a moment as that sunk in.

"Actually, I don't think that's helping," The Doctor said.

"She's not a goblin, or a monster," the Professor said loudly. "She's just a very sick woman!"

"Maybe that's why it went for her," Jethro said.

"There is NO 'it'!"

"Think about it, though. That knocking went all around the bus until it found her. And she was the most scared out of all of us." Jethro looked at her. "Maybe that's what it needed. That's how it got in."

"For the last time, NOTHING can live on the surface of MIDNIGHT!" the Professor said, and Luke finally snapped.

"As far as you know!" he snapped. "You're only thinking of us, humans! Just because we can't live on Midnight doesn't mean everything else can't! Different creatures can live on different planets that we can't! This is happening! There WAS something outside, something HAS happened to Mrs Silvestry and it's probably not a coincidence! For a Professor you're not making any useful suggestions at all, all you do is stand there telling us what's impossible while it's happening and treating your assistant like she's stupid when she's probably more smart than you are! So unless you have anything helpful to say, shut up and let the rest of us try and understand!" The Professor, for once, seemed to be at a complete loss for words. Dee Dee's mouth was actually open, and The Doctor looked both surprised and proud.

"Well," he said lightly. "Not sure that really helped but...OK. Fair enough."

"She's still doing it," Val sniffed, drawing back against her husband as Sky copied her words. "Make her stop. Please."

"We should be trying to help her," Luke said firmly. "If she is possessed by something we should be trying to help her, or at least be decent towards her. We don't know she's bad."

"Her eyes, though," Jethro said uncertainly.

"We still don't know. Mrs Silvestry could still be able to hear us, or could be saved."

"Exactly," The Doctor agreed. "It's our job to help her."

"You can help, but I'm not going near," Biff said.

"No, I've got to stay back," The Doctor said, surprising Luke. "Because if she's copying us, then maybe the final stage is becoming us. I don't want her becoming me, or things could get a whole lot worse."

"Oh, like you're so special," Val said.

"As it happens, yes I am," The Doctor said, grabbing Luke's sleeve and halting him as he tried to walk past while still watching Val. "Where do you think you're going?"

"To try and help her," Luke said. "To talk to her."

"No, I can't let you do that. We'll stay at the back, and wait," The Doctor said. "When the rescue ship comes, we can get her to hospital."

"...We should throw her out," the hostess hissed suddenly.

"I beg your pardon?" the Professor spluttered at her. Most of them looked horrified, but Val almost hopeful.

"Can we do that?" she asked.

"Don't be ridiculous!" The Doctor snapped, looking disgusted. Luke felt his stomach churn as he looked at the hostess who had offered them peanuts and was now contemplating murder.

"That THING, whatever it is, killed the driver and the mechanic, and I don't think she's finished yet," the hostess said in defence.

"She can't even MOVE!"

"Look at her! Look at her eyes! She killed Joe, and she killed Claude, and we're next!"

"She's still doing it," Biff said as Sky spoke with him, and surged forwards. "Just stop it!" he shouted and she shouted with him. "Stop talking, STOP IT!"

"Biff, don't sweetheart!" Val cried, reaching out for him.

"But she won't stop!" he said, returning to them. "We can't throw her out, though. We can't even open the doors."

"No one is getting thrown out," The Doctor said, staring at Biff levelly but with danger in his tone. Biff appeared to relent and joined his wife. But then Dee Dee spoke up.

"Yes, we can," she said. "Because there's an air pressure seal. Like when you opened the cabin door," she said, turning to the hostess. "You weren't pulled out, you had a couple of seconds, 'cause it takes the pressure wall about six seconds to collapse. Well, six seconds exactly. That's enough time to throw someone out."

"Thanks, Dee Dee, just what we needed," The Doctor growled.

"Would it kill her outside?" Val asked as easily as if she were asking Dee Dee if she wanted milk in her coffee.

"I don't know. But she's got a body now, it would certainly kill the physical form-"

"NO ONE IS KILLING ANYONE!" The Doctor boomed, but no one appeared to be listening.

"I wouldn't risk the cabin door twice but we've got that one," the hostess said, pointing to the other. "All we need to do is grab hold of her and throw her out!"

"But what if Sky can come back?" Luke said in disbelief, horrified at how they were actually considering it. "If you destroy her body you're still killing HER, even if she's not here now!"

"She's not coming back, we're all in danger while she-it's here!" the Professor said. "I wouldn't expect someone you're age to understand!"

"One life to save all of us," Biff said firmly, and Luke glowered at him.

"Her life is just as valuable as ours!"

"Stop it!" The Doctor shouted as everyone began to argue with each other. "For all we know, that's a brand new life form over there and if it's come inside to discover us then what's it found? This little bunch of humans. What do you amount to? Murder? Because this is where you decide, you decide who you are! Could you actually murder her, any of you? Really? Or are you better than that?" Everyone was silent and the majority looking ashamed and shaken at themselves.

"...I'd do it," the hostess said.

"So would I," Biff said.

"And me," Val decided, through her head back, appearing to think it made her brave.

"I think we should," Dee Dee said.

"What?"

"I want her out!" she said desperately, tears in her eyes.

"You can't say that!"

"I'm sorry, but you said it yourself, Doctor!" Dee Dee cried. "She's growing in strength!"

"That's not what I said!"

"I wanna go home. I'm sorry, I want to be _safe_."

"You'll be safe. Any minutes now, the rescue truck is on it's way."

"And what then, Doctor?" the hostess challenged. "If it takes that thing back to the Leisure Palace, if that thing reaches civilisation, what if it spreads?"

"No, because when we get back to the base, I'll be there to contain it," The Doctor said.

"Well, you haven't done much so far!" Val spat.

"He's just standing at the back with the rest of us."

"Oh?" Luke snapped at Biff. "Are you saying you should be doing something else? Like helping her?"

"Don't get all smart-ass with me kid, I'm warning you!"

"It's my job to see that this vessel is safe!" the hostess said. "We should get rid of her."

"Now, hang on, I think perhaps we're all going a little bit too far," the Professor said slowly, and The Doctor grabbed his shoulder gratefully.

"At last, thank you!"

"Two people are DEAD!" the hostess said furiously.

"Don't make it a third!" The Doctor snarled, then looked at Jethro, who ahd remained quiet. "Jethro, what do you say?"

"I'm not killing anyone."

"Thanks you."

"He's just a boy!" Val said, and Jethro glowered at her angrily.

"What, so I don't get a vote?"

"There isn't a vote! It's not happening, ever!" The Doctor shouted, looking completly disgusted, fire in his eyes. "If you try and throw her out that door you'll have to get past me first."

"OK," the hostess said shortly.

"Fine by me," said Biff sourly.

"Oh, now you're being stupid, just think about it!" The Doctor yelled in his face with a burning hatred. "Could you actually take hold of someone and throw them out of that door?"

"You calling me a coward?"

"Well, you want to throw her out because your scared, so you are!" Luke shouted.

"Keep this up and you'll be following her!" Biff boomed.

"Don't you DARE threaten him!" The Doctor roared, going nose to nose with Biff. "Don't you dare!"

"Who put you in charge, anyway?" Val asked spitefully as Biff pushed him back.

"I'm sorry, you're a doctor of...what, exactly?" the Professor asked suspciously, and The Doctor stared at him in bewildered disbelief.

"These two weren't even booked in," the hostess said, nodding at him and Luke. "The rest of you, tickets in advance. They just turned up out of the blue."

"Where from?"

"I'm just travelling. I'm a traveller, that's all, Luke with me-"

"Like an immigrant?" Val asked coldly.

"Who were you talking to? Before you got on board, you were talking to someone. Who was that?" the hostess asked, clearly fancying herself as some kind of expert detective.

"Just Donna. Just my friend," The Doctor replied.

"What were you saying to her?"

"He hasn't even told us his name!"

"The thing is though...Doctor, you've been loving this," Jethro said hesitantly.

"Oh, Jethro," The Doctor said in despair. "Not you."

"No, but ever since all the trouble started, you've been loving it."

"It has been said, you do seem to have a certain...glee?" the Professor accused.

"All right, I'm interested, yes! I can't help it. Because whatver's inside her, it's brand-new and that's fascinating!"

"What you WANTED this to happen?"

"No!"

"You were talking to her. All on your own, before all the trouble, right at the front! You were talking to that Sky woman, the two of you together! I saw you!"

"We all did!"

"You think they planned this?" Luke asked, horrified and scared-not of Sky-but of them. "You think Sky WANTED to be like this? She was scared, you saw her!"

"She could have been acting."

Accusations started flying all over the place, and Luke slumped into a chair, his head in his hands, unable to deal with it any more, wishing he was somewhere else. Whenever he looked at what used to be Sky, he felt terror pierce him like knife. Whenever he looked at the others, he felt the same.

"...and the wiring," Dee Dee said to The Doctor. "You went into that panel and opened up the wiring!"

"That was after!" The Doctor defended himself.

"But how did you know what to DO?"

"Because I'm clever!" he snapped finally, a short silence following his words.

"Oh," the Professor said, his expression mirrored by everyone else. "I see. Well, that makes things clear."

"And what are we, then?" Biff asked loudly. "Idiots?"

"That's not what I meant."

"If you're clever, then what are we?" Dee Dee asked, looking more insulted than hostile.

"You've been looking down on us from the moment we walked in!"

"Even if he goes he's practically volunteered," the hostess said, and Luke leapt up and went to The Doctor's side loyally.

"I won't let you," he said. Val's cold mask wavered, but Biff openly snorted.

"As if you could stop us. So...we throw him out as well?"

"...If we have to," the hostess said, shrugging.

"So anyone who disagrees with killing gets thrown out!" Luke snapped. "I disagree!"

"You're just a kid-"

"I'll tell them back at The Leisure Palace! I'll tell them what you did!"

"Luke," The Doctor warned. "Digging your own grave..."

"We would kill him!" Val said, looking stricken. "What sort of people do you take us for?"

"Look," The Doctor said. "I know you're scared. So am I, look at me, I am. But we have all got to calm down and cool off and think!"

"Perhaps you could tell us your name," the Professor suggested.

"What does it matter?"

"Then tell us."

"...John Smith," he said, and everyone scoffed.

"Your real name!"

"He's lying, look at his face."

"His eyes are the same as her's."

"Why won't you tell us?"

"It's a symptom."

"He's been lying to us right from the start!"

"Just tell us your name!"

"No one's called John Smith! Come off it!"

"Leave him alone!" Luke said in panic and anger. "I'm Luke Smith, he's my uncle!"

"You're lying as well!"

"Listen to me right now!" The Doctor yelled, holding up a hand. "You need me, all of you! If we are going to get out of this then you need me!"

"So you keep saying! You've been repeating yourself more than her!" the Professor said.

"That doesn't mean it isn't true!"

"Will some shut the kid up, gag him or something?"

"Are you SERIOUS?" The Doctor shouted at Biff's suggestion. "I'm the best chance you've got-"

"If anyone's incharge it should be the Professor, he's the expert!" Val snapped.

"Mum, just...stop," Jethro said quietly, watching Sky. "Just look."

"You keep out of this, Jethro!"

"Look at her!" They turned to look at Sky, and realisation dawned.

"She's stopped," Val said, stunned. The Doctor looked incredulous.

"When did she-" He stopped as she spoke with him. "No, she's still doing it."

"She looks the same to me," Val said, then looked amazed as no other voice joined her own. "No...she's stopped. Look, I'm talking and she's not!"

"What about me? Is she..." Biff trailed off. "Look. Look at that, she's not doing me. She's let me go."

"Mrs Silvestry-" the hostess stopped bothering to speak to Sky the moment she knew her voice was solitary. "Nor me. Nothing."

"Sky?" The Doctor asked, her speaking too. "What are you doing?"

"She's still doing him," Dee Dee said in a whisper.

"Doctor, it's you," the Professor said. "She's only copying you!"

"Doctor what-" Luke stopped as he heard two of his own voice. "She's copying me two."

"Oh my God," Val breathed shakily. "It's just them. They're all in it together, they must be somehow!"

"Luke, just be quiet," The Doctor advised darkly, ignoring Val and still watching Sky as she repeated his every word. "Sky, stop it! I said stop it, just stop it! Let Luke go at least!" He knelt in front of Sky again. "Mrs Silvestry, I'm trying to understand."

"Doctor, get away," Luke asked desperately, terror on his face as she asked him too. "Stop speaking, you said it helps her!"

"Which is really why you should stop," The Doctor said. "Sky, what do you need? Why our voices in particular?" Understanding crossed his face. "Because we're clever? If so, why? Because you think we can help? Oh, I'd love that to be true, but your eyes. They're saying something else. So stop it. I can help, but not like this-" The Doctor stopped suddenly as he realised she hadn't repeated his last few words. "Good," he said, as her mouth remained unmoving. "Exactly, I can help."

"What..." Luke stopped as Sky spoke, and The Doctor looked around, alarmed. "She's still copying me."

"Sky, you leave him alone," The Doctor said in a steely voice. "I can help you, but only if you leave him alone!" He whipped around as suddenly Luke fell to his knees. "Stop it, Sky!"

"Oh, look at that," Sky said slowly as The Doctor rushed over to Luke.

"Oh, look at that," Luke repeated, his eyes wide with fear.

"I'm ahead of him."

"I'm ahead of him."

"Please," The Doctor pleaded with her. "Use me instead, stop!"

"I think it's moved," Sky said with a serene smile.

"I think it's moved," Luke repeated.

"It's passed from her into him," the Professor said and Val glanced at him.

"Is that what happened?"

"No!" The Doctor snapped, then looked back to Luke. "It's went for Sky because she was scared, it went for me because I was clever. It went for you because you were both. Oh, I'm so sorry."

"I can move," Sky said, moving her hands. "I can feel again."

"I can move, I can feel again," Luke said, a tear running down his cheek.

"And look at him. He can't move."

"And look at him. He can't move."

"Help me," Sky said, extending her arms out. "Professor. Get me away from them."

"Help me. Professor. Get me away from them."

The Professor helped Sky up cautiously, and soon Val was all too quick to hug her tight while The Doctor remained with Luke, looking around at Sky and pointing at her furiously.

"Whatever you need him for, I won't allow it, do you hear me? I will stop you!" he shouted, his eyes flashing. "You have one last chance, let him go!"

"But it's him," she said calmly.

"But it's him."

"He's dangerous."

"He's dangerous."

"We should throw him out."

"We should throw him out."

There was a shocked, horrific silence and people considered it.

"No, never!" The Doctor shouted at them all.

"But it's not him anymore!" Val said tearfully. "It passed into him, I saw it!"

"That's not what happened," Dee Dee disagreed, but the Professor interrupted her.

"Be quiet, Dee Dee."

"But-"

"That's an order!" he shouted at her, and she jumped. "You're making a fool of yourself, pretending to be an expert in mechanics and hydraulics when I can tell you that you are nothing more than average!"

"That's how he does it," Sky said slyly.

"That's how he does it," Luke repeated.

"He makes you fight, gets inside your head."

"He makes you fight, gets inside your head."

"That's him."

"That's him."

"Listen."

"Listen."

"Just listen."

"Just listen."

"Oh my God!"

"Get him out of my head!"

"Do something!"

* * *

Luke could still hear and see everything, but was powerless to prevent the creature from using his mouth to speak, forcing his lips to move. He could hear The Doctor telling him to fight it, but he didn't know how. The harder Luke tried the harder the alien did, like game of tug of war-the more he tried, the more difficult it was to hang on. Trying to force it out was impossible, and a pressure built behind his eyes and in his skull, as though it were squeezing the last bit of him out.

"What's he doing?" Jethro asked as The Doctor placed his hands on Luke's temples and appeared to be concentrating hard, but he ignored his question. Entering Luke's mind, he struggled through the muddled thoughts and nearly fell back at the intense desperation for help that he found.

_I will, _he tried to think back firmly. _I promise._

As Sky spoke again, the thin connection was broken.

"Throw him out now," she said, and Luke repeated.

"Throw him out now."

"He's the bad one."

"He's the bad one."

"He'll grow in strength."

"He'll grow in strength."

"Stop him now!"

"Stop him now!"

"No, I won't let you!" The Doctor shouted, getting up and storming over to them all. "I've had enough of-what are you doing?" He yelled as Biff pulled his arms behind his back. "What are you DOING?"

"I've got him, now do it!" Biff shouted, while The Doctor struggled hopelessly in his locked arms.

"NO! STOP! It's still her-it doesn't matter! No one is throwing anyone out!"

"You're in no position to tell us what he can and can't do!"

"Throw them both out!"

"No, don't!"

"You can't!"

"I don't think you should-"

"Oh, stay out of it Jethro!"

"LET GO OF ME!"

"Quickly."

"Quickly."

"He's getting stronger!"

"He's getting stronger!"

"He's been waiting so long."

"He's been waiting so long."

"In the dark."

"In the dark."

"And the diamonds."

"And the diamonds."

"For blood."

"For blood."

"Stop it!"

"Get him out!"

"But she's saying it!"

As everyone spoke and shouted frantically, the hostess stared in horror at the smirking Sky.

"It's her," she said, quietly to herself, and while nobody else heard, Sky did, and her grin faded as the hostess stared at her. "It's HER!" In one quick movement she pushed Sky back to the cabin door and slammed her hand against the button. The harsh white light blasted inside, and she counted to herself through the screams. "One, two, three, four, five, six..." And that was the last thing she ever said before she and what remained of Sky Silvestry were pulled out, the door sliding shut behind them. Luke staggered upright, pale and shaky, but with clear eyes, before his legs gave out and he collapsed sideways onto the floor, limp and unmoving. The Doctor pushed forwards, Biff releasing him now, still with shock.

"Is...Is he all right?" Vera asked cautiously as he checked for a pulse, and The Doctor glowered at her.

"He's alive, if that's what you mean. I doubt he's all right," he snapped at them all.

* * *

Donna had heard about the problems with the Crusader back at The Leisure Palace, and had spent over and hour worrying before she was got a phone call from The Doctor as he told her to go to the TARDIS.

"Doctor?" she called as she walked through the doors.

"Sick bay!" he shouted back simply, and Donna hurried thorugh to see Luke loooking like death, The Doctor hovering worriedly.

"Oh my God-what happened?" she cried, dropping into the seat beside the bed, then slapping The Doctor's arm. "I told you to look after him!"

He briefly explained everything, and Donna gave him a tight hug.

"If we have time," she said coldly over his shoulder, "can we find out where those people live?" Before The Doctor could answer, Luke suddenly jerked forwards and convulsed violently, and they broke apart. "Do something!"

"I don't know what's happening!" Whilst trying to hold him down objects began flying through the air, and Donna ducked as a tray flew over her head. The Doctor wasn't so lucky, and was hit hard in the face by a textbook.

"Oi, tell your spaceship to stop having a hissy fit!" Donna shouted as another book flew past her, but The Doctor looked completely lost.

"It's not the TARDIS," he said, then frowned as all of the objects dropped from the air and fell to the ground noisily with thuds and clangs, and Luke went still. "I think...but..."

"_What_?"

"Perhaps when Sky took him over he unconciously accessed telekinetic abilities in an attempt to force her out," The Doctor said. "It would be possible for him, everyone has the ability but...still. Wow."

"You should put some ice on your forehead," Donna suggested to him. "I think you're getting a bruise where that book hit you."

* * *

The TARDIS was quiet that night. Donna stayed by Luke's side, sleeping in her seat. The Doctor was sat alone in the console room-he would never admit it, but the events of that day had shaken him more than anything ever had. It was so easy for people to turn.

Around him, he felt the TARDIS hum in sympathy.


	8. Chapter 8 Stolen Earth

Stolen Earth

Bad Wolf.

Luke had no idea why those words struck such fear into The Doctor, or why they were suddenly everywhere they shouldn't be, even on the TARDIS. Polluting the universe.

"I don't understand," Luke said, running after The Doctor into the TARDIS then stopping dead at the eerie crimson glow that filled it and the loud gong it emitted. "I...but..." he stammered while The Doctor feverishly started up the TARDIS with none of the joy he usually had, a kind of wild panic in his eyes. "Donna just...she said it was a parallel world she created!"

"It's all worlds, every world," Donna answered quickly, then touched The Doctor's arm. "What does it mean?"

"Why's 'Bad Wolf' bad?" Luke asked in terror while The Doctor continued working. "What wolf?"

"It's not a threat or a thing," The Doctor replied finally as the TARDIS jerked and set off, the red lights still flashing. "It's a warning." Luke was startled to see tears in his eyes, but then he blinked and they were gone.

"From who?"

"From Rose. It's a warning from Rose."

Rose Tyler. Luke had heard of her from The Doctor many times-he loved her. He missed her. The TARDIS had talked of her, how they once became one in a blaze of fire and glory amidst a time of fear and...

"A warning for what?" Luke asked in a different voice, then spoke up as The Doctor ignored him. "A warning for WHAT? Where are we going?"

"Earth," The Doctor said simply. "It could be in danger." Donna went pale as the blood drained out of her face.

"My family's on Earth," she said raspily, then became fierce. "_What does it mean_?" She got no answer, and Luke began to feel an icy feeling spread down his spine. Maria and Clyde were there...he hadn't given them much thought until now, but they could die and he had never even said goodbye to them. He had just flown away and left them because he couldn't bear the memories. Maria he had called once, just once, to tell her what had happened and where he was. But he hadn't seen her face, and she hadn't seen his. It was wrong, she deserved more than that. He hadn't seen her face...but he thought she might have cried.

He couldn't let that be the last time they ever spoke.

* * *

The second they landed The Doctor bolted through the doors and outside. Luke wasn't sure what he had been expecting-a blazing red sky full of fire and spaceships, dead bodies littering the street, rivers of blood-but when they stood outside all they were looking at was an ordinary, perfectly calm road under a serene blue sky. To complete this perplexing image of tranquility, a milkman was passing by.

"...Maybe Rose was wrong," Luke suggested as a butterfly fluttered past his face. "Everything seems fine."

"Excuse me," The Doctor called out to the milkman. "What day is this?"

"Saturday," the milkman replied, possibly thinking The Doctor was totally bonkers or extremely hungover.

"Good," The Doctor said, nodding. "Good, I like Saturdays."

* * *

Back inside the TARDIS, they went back to business. The Doctor was wound tightly as a coiled spring, giving Luke the uncomfortable feeling that something was about to press down too heavily on him and set him off. Feeling it would be best to give him some space and let Donna do all the pressurising (she was, after all, the master of it) he headed off in the direction of the library. It was somewhere he often took refuge and felt more at peace, but for some reason not this time. There was something in the air, like apprehension only worse.

Luke had only just whipped out his phone to call Maria when it happened. The entire TARDIS shuddered, and the books on the shelves tumbled down to the floor with their open pages crumpled and fluttering. A few of them slammed him on the head, and it was in a frenzy of panic and pain that he ran out and into the console room where Donna grabbed his arms and pulled him further in with her and the Doctor, who both looked just as confused and frightened as him.

"Was that you?" Luke asked The Doctor, who looked wide eyed.

"What the hell was that?" Donna demanded to know. "Well?"

"The TARDIS doesn't normally move like that when it travels, it kind of shakes but that was one big movement," Luke observed fearfully.

And he was right. They hadn't moved, as they saw when they stared out of the TARDIS doors into an endless stretch of black sky where just minutes before houses and grass and trees and even a milkman had been. Where the Earth had been.

The Earth was gone.

*Cardiff*

The members of Torchwood were sprawled on the ground, and Jack Harkness was the first to heave his dazed self to his feet.

"Gwen? Ianto?" he called. "Are you OK?"

"We're fine," Gwen assured him, climbing awkwardly to her feet with Ianto doing to same a few feet away.

But they weren't. Because when Jack rushed out of the Hub onto the surface, he didn't see the sunny blue sky that should have been there. It was as though a shadow had fallen over the entire planet, darker than night. More than that. It was impossible, he said to himself, but there it was, staring him in the face.

The orbs floating in the pitch black sky. The planets hanging above the Earth.

* * *

*UNIT*

One minute Martha Jones had been doing her job-phones had been ringing, people had been chatting and the tapping of keyboards filled the tiny space that wasn't already holding the busy noises. Now she was struggling upright with her collegues laying on the floor or sitting up, looking bewildered.

Then one of the junior members of the workforce called her to the window that she was staring out of in such terror. That was when it struck Martha. It was dark, much too dark. Last time she had been summoned to look outside she had seen rain flying up before she landed bizzarly and with a bang on the moon, where The Doctor had only just managed to save the hospital she worked in and everyone inside it. When she saw the sky now past her fearfull reflection in the window, she prayed he could save them all now.

"It can't be," she whispered. This time, Earth was still there, with people screaming in the streets and the building stretching up to the sky...the impossible night sky filled with planets.

*Cornwall,*

Maria Jackson had been watching TV when the room she had been staying in started to shake with a violent kind of earthquake before going still, leaving the TV face down on the floor with the smashed screen creating glass shards on the carpet. She herself had been thrown sideways accross the bed was had been perching on, and as she raised her head, brushing her hair out of her eyes, she saw her phone lying on the floor from where it had been shaken from the dresser.

She stood, half expecting the ground to tilt once again, and switched on the lamp before realising what she was doing and freezing with her hand on the switch.

"Maria?" Her dad burst into the room in a panic. Because they both knew that had been no earthquake. "Are you OK?"

"...I'm fine," she said, but her voice sounded detatched. She looked to the window, where it presented them with the black sky when moments ago it had been morning. "But look outside."

After scooping up her phone from the floor, the two of them stared out of the window. Tears were in Maria's eyes as Alan put his arm around her shoulder. She knew someone who could have helped once. Sarah-Jane. But she was gone, and suddenly the universe didn't seem so beautiful anymore. The planets above them scared her.

Almost immediately, her phone began to vibrate repeatedly with message after message from Clyde, but there was nothing she could do. The one thing she clung to was that Luke was safe with the Doctor-he had told her the brilliant things he'd seen. He was gone, but he was safe. The Doctor would look after him.

But, somehow, she still felt like crying.

*The TARDIS*

"I'm taking you to The Shadow Proclamation."

The title sounded so majestic and mighty, but at that moment neither Luke nor Donna cared. Donna's eyes were glistening with tears, and Luke was slumped on the console room's chair, staring into space. Earth was gone. He hadn't really spent much time there, but it was _home_. Now it was lost, he wanted to go back, if only for a day. He wanted to leave behind the painful memories and distract himself with the stars, but it was one thing to want and accept something new, another thing to never be able to go back.

Before they knew it they were standing, hands in the air, before rhinos with guns pointing directly at them.

"...These are the police?" Luke whispered to Donna without taking his eyes of them.

"I don't really think now is the time for explanations," she whispered back, then jumped one of the rhinos barked at them in its native language, whatever that was, and was responded to by the grim faced Doctor who barked back at lightening speed.

"...Maho," he rounded off seriously as they lowered their weapons in unison.

Several minutes later they were escorted into a large, mainly white room, where a fearsome looking woman dressed in black with startlingly crimson eyes and pale skin and hair greeted them by informing the Doctor that he, a Time Lord, was the stuff of legend and he couldn't possibly exist.

"Yeah, more to the point, I've got a missing planet," The Doctor replied, irritation crossing his face. The woman looked amused.

"Then you are not as wide as the stories would say. The picture is far bigger than you imagine, the whole universe is in outrage, Doctor. Twenty-four worlds have been taken from the sky!"

"How many?" The Doctor asked with a frown, then dashed over to the nearby computer. "Show me!" Staring at the screen, he listed off the planets.

"...Woman Wept, Clom...Clom's gone?" He looked a mixture of confused and disgusted. "Who'd want Clom?"

"All different sizes," the woman said seriously. "Some populated, some not, but all unconnected."

Luke found himself phasing out as they spoke, and was barely listening as Donna swiftly got in a fierce argument. Those planets were gone-moved? But Earth couldn't move...no one would survive. Maybe they were dead...

"That's it!" The Doctor bellowed triumphantly all of a sudden, jerking Luke out of his miserable thoughts. "Donna, brilliant! Planets are being taken out of time as well as space!" Frantically he stabbed buttons and brought the images of the planets into 3D, adding various other lost ones as he went along. For a moment they simply hung before them, then shifted into new positions around each other.

"What did you do?" the woman asked accusingly, her red eyes flashing as The Doctor walked among them.

"Nothing," he said, staring around at them. "Planets rearranged themselves into the optimum pattern. Oh...look at that. Twenty-seven planets in perfect balance. Oh, come on, that is gorgeous."

"Oi! Don't get all Space Man," Donna scolded impatiently. "What does it mean?"

"All those worlds fit together like pieces of an engine," he replied. "Like a power house. But what for?"

"Who could design such a thing?"

"...Someone tried to move the Earth before," The Doctor said, the atmosphere becoming considerably darker as his face clouded over. "Long time ago...it can't be."

"Can't be who?" Luke asked, but he didn't reply. "Doctor? Can't be...can't be who?" Instead of answering his question, the Doctor ran off to look at the computer again. Luke turned to Donna questioningly, but she only sighed and sunk down onto one of the steps the towering staircase beside them. Feeling isolated and miserable, Luke wandered off until another of the strange red eyed women approached him.

"I'm so sorry," she said. "So young for such a terrible loss."

"We'll find Earth," he told her firmly, trying to convince himself just as much. "The Doctor will get it back, you'll see."

"Perhaps," she said, and he went back to staring at the floor. "But you won't get her back." His head shot back up the look at her.

"What?"

"You willingly ran from your planet because it felt so empty without her," she said sadly while he listening, horrified. "It is only now that it is lost that you realise what you left behind."

"I'll get back," he said. "I will. if they're all still...we'll save them."

"But at such a cost," she whispered, leaning in close. "You'll lose still more...my condolences." Then, the strange, eerie woman gave him a final look of pity before going over to the shell-shocked Donna, leaving Luke shaken and confused. He saw her speaking to Donna, who's face grew fearful, and couldn't shake the unnerving feeling that she was warning them.

"Luke, Donna!" The Doctor called, not seeming to notice their stricken expressions. "Come on, think, Earth. There must have been some sort of warning, was there anything happening back in your day? Like electrical storms, freak weather, patterns in the sky...?"

"Well...that sort of thing happens a lot," Luke said anxiously. "Usually because of aliens."

"Yes, but specifically something odd, unusual and recent?" he prompted, but Luke was lost-he wouldn't know the difference between normal and abnormal happenings. All of the focus was suddenly on Donna, who looked exhausted and weary.

"Donna?"

"How should I know?" she asked, rubbing her temples. "Um...no, I don't think there was anything, no." The Doctor looked disappointed, but unsurprised.

"OK, then, never mind," he said, turning around and heading away.

"Although," Donna called out hesitantly, as though afraid of being told she was stupid. "There were the bees disappearing."

"The bees disappearing?" The Doctor echoed, looking skeptical. "The _bees_ disappearing?" Suddenly, his expression melted into one of realisation. "..._The bees disappearing_!" In a rush, everything became frantic and he explained how the bees were going back to their home planet, which in the frenzied panic of the moment took a moment to sink in.

"Are you saying BEES are ALIENS?" Donna asked in shock. The Doctor gave her a look.

"Don't be so daft," he said, and appeared to wait for Donna to look reassured before adding, "not all of them."

The 'bees' were travelling, but could be followed on the same wavelength to the Earth...

"We can follow the path!" The Doctor shouted in triumph, and Donna instantly sped off towards the TARDIS.

"WELL STOP TALKING AND DO IT!" she yelled.

"I AM!"

After blatantly ignoring the rules of the Shadow Proclamation the followed the scattered trail, only to reach a dead end. An canvas of black and drifting colour was all that could be seen on the TARDIS scanner.

"...Where are the twenty-seven planets?" Donna asked, but Luke could see her sadness and knew that she already knew the answer.

"Nowhere," The Doctor said. "The Tandoca Trail stops dead. End of the line."

"So...what do we do?" Donna asked desperately, but he stayed silent. "Doctor, what do we do?" He still said nothing, his face a mask of grim sadness. "No, don't do this to me. No, don't. Don't do this to me. Not now. Tell me what we're going to do! You never give up! Please!" Finally, Donna stopped pleading and covered her mouth with her hands, tear sprining to her eyes. Because they hadn't just lost a planet. They'd lost everyone they'd ever loved, too.

The Doctor knew more than anyone that it was one thing to travel away from home forever, another to be forced to.

*Earth*

Jack was sat dejectedly in the corner of the Hub. The Earth had moved. The Daleks, ruthless killers had them trapped. He would never say it, but he feared the Daleks most of all-the first to have kill him, and really killed him. There wasn't even a fight, not really. Most guns were useless, and he remembered the terrible sound of the bullets failing and falling to the ground. He might as well have thrown marshmallows at them for all the good it did. And now, as he watched Ianto and Gwen, he knew he was going to lose them, like he lost everyone.

That is, until one the many screens flickered into life, and a voice reached out to them. A familiar voice. Harriet Jones, former prime minister. Jack knew who she was, and when she explained her plan, boy was he glad to see her.

*TARDIS*

The console room was silent. All fiery determination or hope had slipped away, leaving all three of them deflated.

In the quiet, the shrill ring of a phone broke the silence. For a second they blanked it out, wallowing in their own misery, before it registered fully what was actually happening.

"Phone!" The Doctor shouted.

"Phone!"

"Is it Martha?"

"Can you trace the signal?"

Just like that, on board the TARDIS from Gallifrey with all of its might and alien equipment and gadgets, it was a little phone from Earth provided them with that explosion of hope that led to them all grouped around the TARDIS scanner, looking into the faces of the friends who had called out to them accross the stars. Martha Jones, Jack Harkness and Torchwood.

"Everyone except Rose," The Doctor said, an underlying sadness behind his happiness at seeing the others.

"Who's he?" Donna asked slyly, pointing to Captain Jack. The Doctor seemed reluctant to reply.

"Captain Jack Harkness-don't," he added as Donna opened her mouth. "Just don't."

"Doctor," Jack greeting, then looked at Donna. "Who's your lady friend?"

"Donna."

"And...Donna's been on the TARDIS how long?" Jack said, his gaze flickering over to Luke. "Are you...did you..." Jack coughed. "Have you turned to family life?"

"No-"

"Oh God no-"

"Never."

"WHY does everyone keep thinking that? No!"

"No way, never in a million years-"

"OI! Watch it!"

"No, it's just...no!"

"Right back at you!"

"OK!" Jack exclaimed, holding up his hands. "You aren't a couple, I get it. So the kid's not your son?"

"No, he's-" Donna paused and glowered at Jack. "_Exactly how old do you think I am_?"

"Plenty of time for fighting later," The Doctor said calmly, gently but firmly pushing a suddenly fuming Donna aside while Jack chuckled at her. "Luke's Sarah-Jane Smith's son." Jack nodded in understanding.

"Ah. I heard about her death-I'm sorry," he told Luke, who managed a small smile in response. Then he looked straight at the Doctor. "It's them. It's the Daleks."

* * *

When they finally reached Earth, Luke found himself being held away from the door by The Doctor.

"You're staying here," he said seriously. "I don't know if Sarah-Jane every told you about the Daleks, but they're deadly. They show no mercy, not ever, and I can't risk you out there."

"I-"

"My decision's final," he said, then put his hands on Luke's shoulders. "Me and Donna will be fine. I have to find Rose. We'll fix this, I promise. Just...sit tight, OK? For Sarah's sake. Humour me." The Doctor smiled at him, then headed to the door. "I'll be back."

"Me too," Donna said, giving Luke a quick hug then pointing at him threateningly. "And don't you dare follow us out, or it will be me you have to worry about, forget Daleks!" She must have thought he looked a little bit scared, because she smiled and hugged him again.

"Good luck," Luke said as they broke apart. Her eyes were watery as she replied.

"Thanks," she said, then turned away and joined The Doctor. She gave him a brief wave that was supposed to be casual but was ruined by the fact that she was on the verge of tears, before the two of them slipped out of the door.

The second it shut behind them, the silence became instantly unbearable. Just testing, Luke walked forwards, his footsteps clanging on the metal floor, and tried to open the door. It didn't budge, and he sighed before wandering back to the room's centre and flopping down onto the seat. And in a second he knew what he needed to do most, and pulled out his own phone and selected the number he wanted to call to reach the voice he wanted to hear. He listened to it ring, and even smiled when it was answered.

"Hello?"

"Maria?" There was a brief pause. "It's Luke."

"I know," she said quietly, and he tightened his grip on the phone as if it would make her closer. "I haven't spoken to you in ages."

"I know," he said guiltily. "I'm sorry. But are you OK?"

"There are those things," she said in a different, more frightened voice, and his stomach tightened in fear for her safety. "The Daleks, I saw them out of the window."

"The Doctor says they're dangerous, you need to hide," Luke panicked. "He's going to stop it, but you have to stay indoors!"

"They've already killed people," she said, sounding afraid but trying to be bold in the way she spoke. "Dad and me are staying hidden, it's fine. I've called Clyde, he's OK too. What about you?"

"I'm in the TARDIS," he said, looking around him.

"Is The Doctor there?"

"No." She was silent for a moment.

"You sound different," she said, but he couldn't tell if she was happy or sad. "I don't know how to explain it. It's something in your voice. Travelling must have changed you."

"Has it?" Luke hadn't felt any different. But he supposed he didn't really know how he felt anymore.

"Is it as mad as Sarah-Jane used to say?" Maria asked with a hint of eagerness amongst the current fear. "What have you seen?" Luke thought about Agatha Christie and the new, beautiful planets, but then the horrible images of Jenny dying in The Doctor's arms, gas choking the world and a skeleton in the shadows flashed before his eyes.

"Lots of things," he said simply, and was mildly surprised to hear her laugh.

"I can't believe this. I'm hiding with the curtains drawn in Cornwall with deadly aliens outside, you're in a spaceship and we're having a chat."

"Is that weird?"

"A bit," she laughed. "That sounds more like you."

Before he could say anything else, the doors to the TARDIS slammed open and The Doctor's limp form was hauled inside, followed by a crying Donna with tears glistening on her face, Jack, and an unfamiliar but beautiful blonde woman who apeared devastated.

"What's happening?" He could just hear Maria's worried voice over Donna's panicked shouting.

"I have to go," he said quickly, then hung up and ran over to them. "What happened?" he asked, the looked in desperation Donna, who had tears sliding down her cheeks. "Is he hurt? Donna?" It was the other girl who answered.

"He was shot by a Dalek," she said tearfully, clutching The Doctor's hand only for Jack to pull her away.

"Yeah, and you need to get back because you know what happens next. Rose, come on," he said, and the blonde girl sobbed and cried out to The Doctor as he struggled onto all fours.

"But you can't!" she shouted, and Jack hugged Donna and the Rose close, while Donna reached out and pulled Luke over to her.

"I'm sorry," The Doctor gasped in pain as he stumbled upright. "I'm regenerating." Donna turned away and Rose and Jack flinched as The Doctor tossed his head up and threw his arms out as golden fire seemed to explode violently out of his limbs. Then he shifted his body and directed the gold fire at the jar holding his hand, and they watched as it streamed out of him until he was left, bedraggled looking but the same. Donna looked confused, Jack was frowning and Rose looked shocked, her tears drying on her face.

"...You didn't change," Luke said slowly. "Mum said your face changed, but it hasn't. You did regenrate, didn't you?"

"I used the regeneration to heal myself but directed the excess energy into my hand before I changed," he explained. Donna and Jack exchanged a look, but Rose broke away from the two and approached The Doctor hesitantly. Luke hadn't seen much of the world, but he saw that she loved him.

"You're...still you," she said, and he smiled.

"I'm still me." They embraced passionately, then broke apart, still grinning. The Doctor gestured at Luke.

"Oh! Rose, Luke, Sarah-Jane's son. Luke, Rose," he said. Rose smiled warmly and shook Luke's hand.

"I met you mum," Rose said. "She was brilliant, but she never said she had a son."

"I'm adopted," Luke explained, and she nodded in understanding.

"Right."

It was a brief moment of joy in the dark times-The Doctor was still himself, he had found Rose, and they were together on the TARDIS.

No one could predict that in a few minutes they would be on the Crucible and face to face with several hundred Daleks.

**To be continued**


	9. Chapter 9:Journey's end

*Journey's end*:**I own no one , this is going to be different from the episode**

They were on the Crucible. If the Daleks wanted them dead, they would die. There would be no hope. And the Doctor knew that as he stared around them all, wistfully at Rose for the days that could have been. Many had tears in their eyes, but they had always known this was a risk.

"You were brilliant," he told Rose, who gave him a watery smile, then turned to Jack. "And you were brilliant." He shared a look with Donna, and said with increased sincerity, 'And you were brilliant." Donna grinned, and he next turned to Luke. "You were brilliant. Just like Sarah Jane."

There was some definate danger of crying as they headed out of the TARDIS, but Donna grabbed the Doctor's arm near the doors.

"What if-"

"The TARDIS can't help use now," he said firmly, and she shook her head.

"No, I know it's not a magic-spacey-time-box-thingy at the moment-"

"_Magic-spacey-time-box-thingy_?"

"Yes, yes, whatever. But if Luke stays here, maybe they won't notice him, at least for a bit."

"Donna..." the Doctor looked sympathetic at her clear desperation.

"I'll stay with him, to talk to him. I can call Mum and Grandad, and he can call his friends. Please." She stared at him pleadingly, and he gave her a hug.

"OK," he said quietly, and smiled at her emotionally. "And if this is it...Goodbye, Donna Noble."

"Goodbye, Space-man." A tear slipped from Donna's eye that she hastily wiped away. "Oh God...It's been great though. I wouldn't change a second."

"Luke?" The Doctor called him over from where he was watching from the console. "You're staying in here with Donna. You can call your friends. I'm so sorry, I know I shouldn't have brought you-"

"No," Luke interrupted quickly, wanting him to understand. "I'm glad you took me with you. It's..." He couldn't quite get the words out. He wanted to say it was like being with Sarah-Jane, on the TARDIS. Like a piece of her was here. He wanted to say that he loved them as parents almost as much he did her. He wanted to describe the feeling of seeing whole other planets, and the strange beauty in even the sad moments. But, even with the numerous descriptive words that he could use, he couldn't find the right ones, and there wasn't the time. So he kept it simple. "You're the closest thing I've had to family since mum."

The Doctor smiled. "I'm glad. And you really were brilliant." Then he turned, slipped out of the doors, and was gone. Wordlessly, Donna wrapped her arms around Luke and they stood like that for a few moments until she spoke softly.

"I should call mum and Grandad," she said, looking frightened at the thought. "I don't know what I'll tell them." Luke thought of Maria, but couldn't guess her reaction or Clyde's. It wouldn't be good.

They hesitated as they reached for the phones reluctantly. As if it knew, the TARDIS gave them the distraction they needed.

Only not a good one.

The TARDIS shook violently then dropped sickeningly downwards like a lift that's cables had been broken, free falling and out of control. Screaming in surprise, Donna shoved Luke out of the way as sparks exploded from the console, and they landed on the shakking floor. The windows and bulbs shattered explosively into shards, a deadly orange fire breaking out and spreading through the room. Smoke began to fill the air, choking them, and Donna pulled Luke was far frm the fire as possible, coughing loudly and uncontollably.

"I'm scared," Luke admitted, as they both lowered their heads as more glass smashed and sprayed everywhere.

"Me too," Donna revealed between raspy coughs. She got on all fours, shaking with hacking coughs, while Luke tried to breathe but only found smoke, no oxygen. His eyes were watering, but now things blurred and fuzzed, the fiery orange of the flames and grey of the smoke merging into each other. His head became muddled and his thoughts drifted from him, and-unable to prevent himself from doing so-he drifted into unconsciousness, the last thing he heard being Donna barely managing to call his name.

*line break*

It was totally, suspiciously still and quiet when he came to. He was on the chair in the console room, and the first thing he saw was Donna hovering around him. Then he realised they weren't falling anymore, that the fires had died and the Doctor was piloting the TARDIS and...

the Doctor was piloting the TARDIS?!

Luke leapt up, taking in the impossible sight of the Doctor in the TARDIS. Had Donna flown the TARDIS back? But she couldn't fly the TARDIS...and even if she could, how did The Doctor escape the Daleks? Where were the others? The millions of questions and scenarios buzzed in his mind, worsening his already painful headache.

"How is he here?" he asked Donna, after a failed first attempt at speech that was more of a hoarse raspy sound and a cough.

"That's the Doctor's right hand," Donna said vaguely. "Are you OK?"

"Yeah, I'm fine but...what do you mean right hand?"

"Oh, I'm much more than a hand," the-sort-of-maybe-a-hand-Doctor said with a feverish excitement in his eyes, bounding over to him. "I was a hand. But obviously I'm not a hand anymore. Hands don't talk, how ridiculous would that be? See?" He made his hand into the shape of a mouth and moved it, making his voice high and squeaky for its speech. "Hello, I'm a hand!"

"...Is he OK?" Luke asked Donna anxiously, with genuine concern and bewilderment. Donna didn't answer, as the sort-of Doctor spoke before she could.

"You're right, that's stupid. Bad hand!" He smacked his own hand. "Anyway, I'm not a hand. I was my hand, but then Donna and my hand went 'whirbalinga'! Then I grew from my hand, part Timelord part gobby human-"

"OI!"

"Proving my point. Sooo then I found some clothes, got dressed, and here I am!" The Hand-Doctor person beamed at him. Luke frowned.

"And...and what exactly was...'Whirbalinga'?" he asked slowly, glancing at Donna questioningly.

"Some kind of human-Timelord metacrisis thingy," she said with a shrug. "He's another version of The Doctor. Part human, part Timelord."

"Yo," Doctor#2 said cheerfully with a wave, then paused thoughtfully. "Yo...can I pull that off? Yo?"

"No, you can't," Donna said firmly. "Never do that again. You're definitely more Doctor than human, you sound like a moron just like him."

"I'll let that slide because I know now that, deep down, that you love and are in awe of me."

Donna hit Doctor#2 hard on the arm. He hit her straight back again without hesitation.

"Oh!" he gasped afterwards, as though suddenly realising his actions. "I got your violent streak."

"I'll show you a violent streak!" Donna looked livid, then let the anger wheeze out of her in a sigh. "Right. We have to help the others."

* * *

Luke was absolutely furious.

One moment he had been standing in the TARDIS with Doctor#2 and Donna, watching as they prepared to fight and fiddled with a hurriedly constructed gun. The next, as he checked his phone for messages from Maria or Clyde, someone had crept up behind him and a cloth was pressed over his nose and mouth, forcing him to breathe in something sweet but terrible. Donna watched sympathetically as he struggled frantically, but did nothing to help. And that's when Luke-with a burst of anger and betrayal-realised who it was.

"I'm sorry." The second Doctor's voice was the last thing he heard before he slumped into blackness, for the second time that day.

After waking up back in his bedroom, he had immediately sprinted for the doors through the empty TARDIS, but it refused to open for him. A blast of cold air blew up out of nowhere and forced him back to the console, and he felt the TARDIS's protectiveness.

_Protecting you._

But he was sick of being protected and looked after. He wasn't an adult, but he wasn't stupid. He wasn't a baby either, no matter how old he was. The only person who could possibly have understood was Jenny, and she was dead.

"No!" he shouted at the TARDIS out loud. "I don't want you to protect me, I don't want Donna to protect me, I don't want anyone to! _I_ want to protect my friends, I won't watch them die!"

The TARDIS hummed in protest.

"No! I can't just wait, I can't!"

Luke's gaze dropped to the monitor, watching it flicker into a life as a strong surge of concern and firm pointedness from the TARDIS swept over him.

_This is why you must stay._

Despite his lingering anger, he stepped closer to the screen out of irepressable curiousity. On the screen, fearsome metal creatures that resembled pepper pots with and single eyestalk drifted done streets, a metal weapon glinting on each in the darkness along with its bronze, inpenetrable looking shell. A shrill, robotic screech suddenly filled the TARDIS as though the Daleks were in the room, the droning voices sending a chill down Luke's spine that shook him to the core.

"EXTERMINATE. EXTERMINATE."

He heard all too loudly the screams of men, women and even children as blasts of bright light shot out of the Daleks' silver weapons, briefly illuminating their already dead bodies as skeletons in an eerie, green glow before they crumpled to the ground amongst the other bodies lying sprawled in the roads, on pavements, outside houses. He could see one man lying in his open doorway, shot down before he could reach his home. He wrapped his arms around himself, and the screams and sounds cut off completely as the TARDIS decided she had made her point.

But he thought of The Doctor and Donna, trapped with what could be millions of the Daleks. Were they already dead, destroyed so easily?

_They will be safe. _

Luke shook off the TARDIS's warm reassurance, his blood running ice-cold as he thought of something else. He plunged his hand into his pocket, but found nothing.

"Phone," he said to himself in horror. "Where's my phone?" He spun around in the circle, and spotted it lying on the TARDIS's floor where he had obviously dropped it after being knocked out. He scooped it up quickly, and hit the desired number on speedial, pressing the phone to his ear in panic, suddenly sure something had happened. At first, there was no reply, and with a surge of terror he rung again. If she didn't answer this time he would find an axe or something, knock down the TARDIS doors and-

"Hel-"

"Are you safe? Why didn't you pick up? Is your dad OK? Are there any Daleks there? Are you hiding? What about your mum? Have you heard from Clyde? Has something happened?" The panicked questions tumbled out of his mouth. "Maria? Are you still there? Why aren't you speaking?"

"Because I can't get a word in," Maria replied, sounding concerned. "Are you sure you're OK, you sound a bit-"

"You sound worried. Why are you worried? Has something happened?"

"I'm worried about you! Just calm down," she said gently, and he gripped the phone tightly, trying to pull himself together. "Now, why wouldn't I be OK?"

"You didn't answer the first time I called you."

"It took me a while to find my phone in my bag, it stopped ringing before I got to it. I was about to call you back when you phoned again." The explanation was so simple that Luke felt rather sheepish, but was a lot more level headed when he spoke again.

"Where are you?" he asked.

"Still in the hotel I'm staying in. The whole place has locked, everyone's staying in their rooms. And before you ask, I'm OK and so's dad. Mum calls every few minutes, she and Ivan are hiding in their attic. The Daleks don't come past this street much anymore, they're pretty much leaving us alone." Somewhat reassured, Luke felt some of fear's grip release him.

"What about Clyde?" he asked her nervously, realising he hadn't been mentioned. When she didn't reply straight away, the grip tightened even more than before. "Maria?"

"He's OK," she said, but her voice was hesitant. "He's called me. He's...he's not exactly over the moon about you, though." When he didn't respond with more questions, Maria seemed to remember who she was talking to. "Not being over the moon means he's not very happy with you."

"Oh." Luke felt that familiar feeling of being stupid, then shook it off as usual. "Why is he upset with me?"

"Well, he says he's angry that you haven't answered any of his calls. But I think really he's still upset that you went off with the Doctor. Plus, he's worried about you."

"How do you know that?"

"I just do. Look, keep texting me instead of phoning, and call Clyde now," she advised. "I'll be fine, I promise. And you do what the Doctor says, OK? Don't get into any trouble."

"I won't," he said.

"Liar."

"I'm not lying."

"I can hear it in your voice, you're a terrible liar. Just stay safe. I'll speak to you again soon."

"Bye." Luke waited for her to hang up first, then anxiously called Clyde, afraid for very different reasons as he waited for the phone to be picked up this time. Unlike Maria, he answered on the third ring.

"I've called you five _times_! Did you forget how to answer your phone or something? It's that little button with the green phone on it, you press it and accept to bloody call! Or is that too hard for you?" Clyde's voice was raised angrily, and Luke felt ashamed.

"I'm-"

"Don't say you're sorry! You had time to call Maria, why not me?" That comment hit Luke hard, as he realised why he hadn't called Clyde. It was because he knew that he'd be honest with him. Maria would tell him it was OK, be kind. But Clyde would tell him if he was angry or hurt, and Luke knew he was. That he had hurt him.

"I'm sorry."

"See, I told you not to say that. I realise you might be having the time of your life on some planet, but you have seen what's happened? I just thought maybe you'd actually give a damn and show your face! I know you called Maria, but she deserves more than a phone call. Do you realise all the explaining we had to do when you disappeared? Now there are all these rubbish bins with guns flying around everywhere-"

"Daleks."

"Yeah, them, and all of these planets have come-"

"Actually, the Earth moved to them."

"OK, Mr Know-It-All!" Clyde snapped. "Where's the Doctor? Why isn't he coming to the rescue if he's as brilliant as Sarah Jane said?"

"He is!" Luke snapped back, fed up with Clyde's attitude. "He's out there on the Crucible with the Daleks right now, with Donna and the others, saving you. I'd be out there too if he hadn't shut me in the TARDIS." There was a pause.

"I'm sorry," Clyde said, taking Luke by surprise-he'd been expecting a sarcastic comment. "I just...Look, I miss you OK? I'm angry."

"I've missed you and Maria too, but I can't go back," Luke said quietly.

"I know. We just wish you could. Besides, my grades have dropped loads since you stopped letting me copy your homework."

"...I never let you copy my homework."

"Oh, yeah. I suppose since you're not here I might as well tell you that I used to steal your homework from your bag and copy it." Before Luke could say anything, he became aware of distant, explosive sounds from outside the TARDIS, and the TARDIS made a sound of distress. "What was that?" Clyde asked.

"Something's happening, I have to go," Luke said in a rush, and was about to hang up when Clyde shouted.

"Wait! Call us again, me or Maria. Don't disappear, OK?"

"I won't." Luke had just hung up when the door burst open, revealing towering flames and explosions, the searing heat entering the TARDIS along with a group of people that one of the Doctors was calling inside.

"In, in, in, in!" the Doctor was shouting at the top of his lungs, waving them inside out of the fire and smoke. Donna ran straight to Luke, and he hugged her gratefully. He saw Rose alongside another blonde, older woman who he didn't know, Martha Jones, Captain Jack and another dark skinned man he'd never met. Only one of the Doctors was inside.

"Where's the Doctor?" Luke asked Donna quickly. "The other one?"

"He's mental!" Rose shouted, as the heard the Doctor outside calling out to the enemy. "DOCTOR!" She made to run back out, but the man Luke didn't know grabbed her. "Get OFF me, Mickey! MICKEY!"

"Just leave him!"

"No!" Rose had shaken herself free, but the Doctor had already returned of his own accord, slightly blackened with smoke but otherwise untouched. The man called Mickey frowned at Luke and cleared his throat pointedly.

"Since when did you have a kid?" he asked.

"He's not mine-you know what, plenty of time for introductions later after we've saved the world," the Doctor said in annoyance.

The Daleks were gone, but it wasn't over yet. Twenty-six planets had been returned safely to their original places, but just one was left. Which was, naturally, Earth. Suggestions were tossed back and forth, but none of which seemed like they would work, were risky, or were immediately shot down.

"Excuse me," Luke spoke up eventually, after quietly thinking it over while the others bickered. No one paused, and he raised his voice. "Excuse me?"

"Grown-ups talking here, kid," Mickey said patronisingly, waving a hand at him. Luke bristled.

"Actually, I have an idea," he said. Mickey looked doubtful, but Doctor#2 held up a hand.

"Give him a chance. What is this idea?" he asked.

"We need the rift. And Mr Smith."

* * *

When Luke got into contact with Mr Smith, he was surpised to see Clyde in the attic through the webcam.

"Who's that?" the Doctor asked, and Clyde looked guilty.

"That's Clyde," Luke explained, then turned his attention to his friend. "What are you doing there?" It was Mr Smith who answered.

"Clyde has been attempting to access the contact number for the Doctor after breaking in through the downstairs window," the computer said. Clyde looked reproachful.

"You snitch!" he accused. "You didn't answer your phone, again, and I swear I didn't mean to break in. Well, I did. But the window's not broken that much, I swear I'll fix it-"

"It's fine, honestly, but I need to talk to Mr Smith."

It turned out that the plan required K-9's assistance. He must have recognised Luke as his new master, because he came when he called, much to Clyde's happiness, who was strangely attached to the little metal dog. He gave Mr Smith the coordinates, and with the help of the Torchwood team they'd done it. They were flying the Earth back home.

"OK," Mickey said to Luke as together they piloted the TARDIS. "I have to admit, that was pretty good." Luke grinned, and pulled out his phone as it vibrated in his pocket.

"Mara?" he could hear screaming from the end of the phone and a lot of crashes.

"There's some kind of earthquake, what's happening?" she sounded terrified, but Luke was smiling.

"It's fine. It's over-we're flying to Earth back home."

* * *

With the Earth back in the solar system, there was an air of celebration inside the TARDIS as everyone hugged, all beaming with joy.

"Are you sure he isn't yours?" Mickey asked the Doctor with a wink, nudging Luke. "He's just as much of a brain-box."

"Maybe he should just call you dad," Martha suggested, only half-joking. "Everyone assumes it anyway." Donna looked at the Doctor.

"Well...I suppose..." The side of the Doctor's mouth turned up in a smike as he barely managed to conceal his pleasure. "Maybe it is time I took some responsibility."

"I'm sure Sarah Jane would have wanted you to," Rose assured him, holding his arm and smiling up at him. He broke into a full-blown grin.

"Yeah. Yeah I suppose...he's my son now." The Doctor gave Luke a look. "If he wants to be."

"I've never had a dad," Luke said seriously, then smiled. "I like it." The Doctor looked overjoyed, and Donna's eyes were glistening with tears. There were quite a few sniffles. Then-

"GROUP HUG!" Jack roared, roping them all in to a smushed, tightly-packed hug together. They were all the happiest they'd ever been.

So, of course, it couldn't last.

* * *

The TARDIS had dropped off Jack, Mickey and Martha after everyone had said their goodbyes. But then the TARDIS landed somewhere else. Somewhere painfully familiar.

"I'll be back in a minute," the Doctor told Luke, gently pushing him out of the TARDIS doors. "There's what you've been running from. Go out and face it."

There was the sound rasping engines, and a blast of wind that lifted to leaves on Bannerman Road before the TARDIS was gone. Struggling with mixed emotions, Luke walked down the familiar road. Maria's modest house alone brought a lump to his throat. Then he turned to the house opposite and stared up at it. The first house he had ever been in, the first house he had ever been in. His home.

Slowly, he walked up the path to the door. He had his own key that always kept on him, never being able to upset that he would no longer need it. He pushed it into the lock and pushed open the door, and stepped into the hallway. The house even had its own familiar smell that made his heart ache, and as he approached the stairs, looking into each of the rooms, he was hit repeatedly with memories that he both hated and treasured.

"About time." Luke looked up the stairs to see Clyde standing on one of the steps, his arms folded. Luke opened his mouth to say something, but felt what he had tried so hard to repress rise up inside him before he could. It was too much being in the house. He collapsed down onto one of the steps on the stairs, keeping his head lowered as he cried. After a while Clyde sat silently beside him. Luke knew it probably wasn't cool to cry.

But neither of them cared.

* * *

True to his promise, the Doctor came back for him. Clyde and Luke had both talked to Maria, and this time they said their goodbyes properly.

"Maybe you could both come with us sometime," Luke suggested as he and the Doctor stood in the doorway to the TARDIS, Clyde on the pavement in front of them. Luke turned to the Doctor. "Could they?"

"My TARDIS is not a daycare centre," the Doctor grumbled stroking the doorframe. Then he grinned cheekily as Donna rolled her eyes behind him. "But OK. I don't see why not."

"Sweet." Clyde gave them all a one handed wave. "See you, then."

"See you."

The Doctor and Luke disappeared into the TARDIS, the blue doors shutting behind them. Clyde took a few steps back, watching as a strong wind came out of nowhere and the raw engine sound started up, the blue box fading in out of existence on the road until it vanished, leaving only a few disturbed leaves behind.

* * *

As the dust of the battle settled, something worse was revealed. A bitter, cruel twist at the end. The Doctor knew, and it took Luke a while to notice the odd little things about Donna. The Doctor had explained how while the cloned Doctor was part human, Donna was, in exchange, part Timelord. At first it hadn't bothered Luke.

But then Donna started repeating herself.

She said odd little things, and Luke got steadily more scared.

"You did so well today," she was telling him, but he was looking over her shoulder at the Doctor, who was leaning against the banister and watching her sadly. "I'm sure..." She trailed off, frowning and looking slightly scared as she seemed to be trying to grab hold of a memory. "Oh, God...I'm sure your mum would be proud of you. Sarah...Sarah! That was it, wasn't it?"

"Sarah Jane," Luke corrected her quietly. There was a dark silence that seemed to stretch on forever.

"Yeah. Well, it's quite a long name, isn't it?" Donna said breezily, bounding over to the console. Luke was frozen to the spot, unable to move as Donna defiantly tried to carry on as normal. "So, where to?" Donna babbled on about nonsense, like a more manic version of the Doctor. Luke walked over to the Doctor.

"I don't understand," he said under his breath. The Doctor gave him a sad look.

"I think you do."

Donna had been in the middle of informing the Doctor on how to fix the Chameleon Circuit when she got stuck on one word, repeating it over and over like a stuck record. The Doctor straightened reluctantly as she slumped forwards with a gasp, shaking. She raised a hand to her head.

"Do you know what's happening?" the Doctor asked her morosely. Donna didn't look at him as she replied.

"Yeah," she said shortly.

"There's never been a Timelord-Human metacrisis before..."

"Because there can't be." Donna was more afraid than Luke had ever seen her, her eyes full of tears. She valiently tried to carry on, refusing to look at the Doctor. "I want to stay."

"Look at me," he said, looking brokenhearted himself. "Donna, look at me." She brought her head up and stared at him, understanding and despair on her face.

"I was going to be with you," she told him in a quiet, wavering voice. "Forever."

"I know."

"The rest of my life. Travelling in the TARDIS. The Doctor-Donna." She looked at Luke, and the raw pain on her face was enough to pierce his heart all over again. "I can't leave him. I can't leave you." The Doctor kept his awful, sad silence, and understanding crossed Donna's face. "No," she whispered, backing away from him. "Oh my God..." She ran over to Luke and pulled him close to her, as though trying to protect a part of her life, cling on to it before it was ripped away. "I can't go back," she told the Doctor. "Don't make me go back. Doctor. Please-don't make me go back!"

"Donna," he said, gently pulling her away from Luke. She looked so defeated now, trembling, with none of her usual fight. "Oh, Donna Noble I am so sorry."

"What's happening?" Luke thought he knew, was almost certain. But he didn't want to believe it.

"If she stays as she is, her mind will burn. She can't have a Timelord conciousness, it's too much."

"Then help her, I don't...you can't..." Luke couldn't go on, his words stuck on the way to his mouth.

"I am helping her. I have to take her memories of us, of what we've seen. To save her life."

"It _was_ my life," Donna said, a sob breaking out. The Doctor gave her a watery smile, his hands on her arms.

"But we had the best of times," he said, and she looked at the floor, a tear dropping from her eyes and more following as she shook with silent, mournful sobs. "The best." Donna reached out and took Luke's hand without looking at him, and the Doctor was holding back tears of his own as he spoke the last word he would say to Donna in a whisper. "Goodbye."

"No," Donna protested, suddenly panicked, whipping her tear-streaked face back up to his as he put his hands on either side of her temples. "No, please! No! No, no!" Luke could see and feel her swaying on her feet as the Doctor closed his eyes, before she gave one final, desperate cry, by that point possibly having forgotten what she was screaming for. "No!" She collapsed forwards into the Doctor's arms and he hugged her against his chest. He was quiet for a long time, then looked up to where Luke was standing still, staring at the limp form of Donna. Except it wasn't Donna anymore. It was your experiences that made you who you were, and Donna had lost those that had made him her Donna. She wouldn't know him.

"Luke," he began, looking devastated. "I had to. I'm so sorry."

Luke wanted to tell him it was OK. He didn't want to resent him. But then he thought of how he would never speak to Donna again, never be able to confide in her. It was like he had lost a mother all over again. And while the Doctor was brilliant...he could never be the kind of parent Luke needed.

He ran from the console room, unable to keep looking at what seemed like Donna's corpse and her killer, and found himself in his room. The air itself seemed heavy with crushing sadness, and he wondered if it was the TARDIS. He felt...hollow. Alone. He would never hear Donna's voice again, or Sarah Jane's.

On his bedside table, his speakers crackled. Not caring if they were broken or even if they were about to explode, Luke did nothing. But then he heard a faint voice that wasn't the Doctor's. It got louder, and he realised it was a woman's.

It was Donna's.

Out of the speakers, it sounded like voices from a normal day in the TARDIS, and hers soon mingled with Luke's and the Doctor's.

_"It's been some day, then! Agatha Christie!" _Donna was saying as an echoe from the past. Luke knelt on his bed and got closer to the speakers. _"And a giant wasp, because if not it would be too normal!"_

_"Exactly! No one likes normal, Donna. But then again, you need normal, or everything exciting would just be normal."_

_"I don't get a word of that. Did you, Luke?"_

_"Sort of."_

_"Course you did, you both geeks! But you're my geeks."_

More conversations filled the room, some Luke had heard, some he hadn't.

_"Did you mean what you said? About Luke being your son now?"_

_"Yes. He deserves a family."_

_"I'll never replace Sarah Jane. But I'll try and be the best second-best mum I can. You know, bedtimes and don't-eat-all-that-sugar, that sort of thing."_

Tears were sliding down his face now, but he didn't want the voices to stop. But then there was another one.

_"You've redecorated." _Luke went still. The voice was familiar, accusing but jokey.

"_Do you like it?" _It was the Doctor.

_"Oh, I do. I preferred it as it was, but it'll do."_

_"I love it." _Rose. The Doctor, Rose, and Sarah Jane in the TARDIS.

_"Hey you, what's forty-seven times three-hundred and sixty-nine?"_

_"No idea," _the ghost of Rose's voice said as Luke subconsciously worked it out. _"It's gone now, the oil's faded." _Luke remembered that story, when this was. When she had met the Doctor again, the funny story of how she and Rose fought at first then became friends.

_"But you're still clever. More than a match for him."_

_"You and me both. Doctor?"_

_"Um, we're about to head off." _The Doctor's voice rejoined to conversation. _"But...you could come with us."_ There was a long pause, and Luke found himself holding his breath even though he knew how it would end.

_"I can't do this anymore. Besides, I've got a much bigger adventure ahead. Time I stopped waiting for you and found a life of my own."_

_"Can I come?" _For a second, Luke couldn't place the voice, before he realised it was Mickey's. _"Not with you, I mean with you. Because I'm not the tin-dog. And I wanna see what's out there."_

_"Oh, go on Doctor! Sarah Jane Smith, Mickey Smith. You need a Smith on board!" _The TARDIS in present day hummed slightly, and Luke got the point, finding himself smiling. He listened to the rest of the conversation, waiting for her voice again.

_"Well, I'd better go." _Luke straightened up at the sad voice.

_"What do I do?" _Rose asked softly what Luke wanted to ask. _"Do I stay with him?"_

_"Yes," _Sarah Jane said firmly. _"Some things are worth getting your heart broken for."_

Luke thought of Sarah Jane herself, and Donna, and the Doctor. He thought of the TARDIS and all the things he'd seen. He thought of how he'd gone back to see Clyde even though he knew it would break him. She was right. Everything ended. But that was OK...the journey just had to be worth it.

"Luke?" the Doctor entered to room cautiously, clearly unsure how Luke would react. The voices were gone, and the TARDIS's presence was weaker, as if it didn't want to impose. "I can...I can take you home if you want."

"This is my home," he said. "This is were mum and Donna were." He smiled slightly. "Besides-you need a Smith on board." The Doctor looked mildly surprised, and Luke wondered if he realised where he had heard that before. Then he smiled too.

"From now on then, wherever and whenever, it's me and you," he said firmly. "And the TARDIS."

"Yeah," Luke said. "I've been thinking...about time."

"Oh?"

"It's not a line, it doesn't progress how people think."

"No."

"And out there somewhere, everyone's alive. Jenny and mum and Donna, our Donna."

"We can't ever go back-"

"I know," Luke interrupted. "But I'm right." The Doctor nodded slowly.

"Yes." Luke nodded thoughtfully.

"I'm going to miss her," he said suddenly.

"Me too."

"...And Rose?"

"Yes."

"But they were worth it, right? Everything was worth it?" Luke and the Doctor exchange a look, and the Doctor smiled.

"Yeah. And I suppose...we carry on. Allons-y."

"Allons-y."

*Finished, next is the sequel*


End file.
